The biggest problem for most Minnesotans is not access to health care – it\'s access to affordable health care, union leaders said.
AFSCME Council 5 represents 43,000 public and nonprofit employees in Minnesota, including the largest bargaining unit of state government workers. "Every time we bargain a contract, we\'re asked to sacrifice our wages just to maintain our health benefits," said Mike Buesing, president of Council 5.
At the conference, union members discussed the goal of affordable health care and how to communicate with their fellow workers, family members and neighbors on the issue.
Participants wore large buttons proclaiming "Heal Sicko – 5% Solution," a reference to the Michael Moore documentary about the sad state of health care in the United States.
They also heard Al Franken, AFSCME-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, describe his ideas for health care reform.
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| AFSCME members discuss health care policy at a conference sponsored by Council 5. |
The goal of the 5% solution is to have no Minnesotan spend more than 5% of their gross income on their health care, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs, the union said.
Many Minnesotans are spending way more than 5% on their health care – some as much as 25% of their income, the union said.
Using interactive keypads to respond to questions, AFSCME members attending the conference reported their health care spending. The tally, posted immediately on large screens at the front of the room, showed that 60 percent are paying more than 5% of their income for health care.
Members said they are seeing the effect of skyrocketing health care costs at the bargaining table. For example, AFSCME Local 499 members employed by the Robbinsdale School District, who earn $31,000 a year on average, are being asked to pay $14,400 annually in premiums for family health care coverage.
Council 5 leadership was careful to point out that the 5% Solution "is the message, not the plan" and that a lot of work needs to be done legislatively to enact change. It\'s clearly time to act, said Eliot Seide, Council 5 executive director.
"This is our fight," he told the gathering. "This is a fight for AFSCME Council 5 and all our members."
Speaking to the conference, U.S. Senate candidate Franken outlined his ideas for addressing the health care crisis.
"We spend more than twice as much on health care in this country as any other industrialized country and they cover everyone," he said. "And they (other countries) have better outcomes."
Franken described heartbreaking encounters with people across the state, from a diabetic woman in Fergus Falls who shares insulin with her son, who also has the disease but can\'t afford insurance, to a teenager facing renal failure because her family can\'t afford her medication.
"We are going to address this, because this is a shame," Franken declared.
If elected, Franken said he would work for legislation to have the federal government guarantee health care for every child in the United States and require the states to set up systems to provide coverage for everyone else. Each state could choose its own plan, but all would have to keep costs down, he said.
For more information
Visit the Council 5 website, www.afscmemn.org
View a short video, produced by the University of Minnesota Labor Education Service, about the 5% Solution, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wUXWL7JKc
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The biggest problem for most Minnesotans is not access to health care – it\’s access to affordable health care, union leaders said.
AFSCME Council 5 represents 43,000 public and nonprofit employees in Minnesota, including the largest bargaining unit of state government workers. "Every time we bargain a contract, we\’re asked to sacrifice our wages just to maintain our health benefits," said Mike Buesing, president of Council 5.
At the conference, union members discussed the goal of affordable health care and how to communicate with their fellow workers, family members and neighbors on the issue.
Participants wore large buttons proclaiming "Heal Sicko – 5% Solution," a reference to the Michael Moore documentary about the sad state of health care in the United States.
They also heard Al Franken, AFSCME-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, describe his ideas for health care reform.
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| AFSCME members discuss health care policy at a conference sponsored by Council 5. |
The goal of the 5% solution is to have no Minnesotan spend more than 5% of their gross income on their health care, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs, the union said.
Many Minnesotans are spending way more than 5% on their health care – some as much as 25% of their income, the union said.
Using interactive keypads to respond to questions, AFSCME members attending the conference reported their health care spending. The tally, posted immediately on large screens at the front of the room, showed that 60 percent are paying more than 5% of their income for health care.
Members said they are seeing the effect of skyrocketing health care costs at the bargaining table. For example, AFSCME Local 499 members employed by the Robbinsdale School District, who earn $31,000 a year on average, are being asked to pay $14,400 annually in premiums for family health care coverage.
Council 5 leadership was careful to point out that the 5% Solution "is the message, not the plan" and that a lot of work needs to be done legislatively to enact change. It\’s clearly time to act, said Eliot Seide, Council 5 executive director.
"This is our fight," he told the gathering. "This is a fight for AFSCME Council 5 and all our members."
Speaking to the conference, U.S. Senate candidate Franken outlined his ideas for addressing the health care crisis.
"We spend more than twice as much on health care in this country as any other industrialized country and they cover everyone," he said. "And they (other countries) have better outcomes."
Franken described heartbreaking encounters with people across the state, from a diabetic woman in Fergus Falls who shares insulin with her son, who also has the disease but can\’t afford insurance, to a teenager facing renal failure because her family can\’t afford her medication.
"We are going to address this, because this is a shame," Franken declared.
If elected, Franken said he would work for legislation to have the federal government guarantee health care for every child in the United States and require the states to set up systems to provide coverage for everyone else. Each state could choose its own plan, but all would have to keep costs down, he said.
For more information
Visit the Council 5 website, www.afscmemn.org
View a short video, produced by the University of Minnesota Labor Education Service, about the 5% Solution, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wUXWL7JKc