Minnesota unions outline goals for health care reform

Union representatives spoke out at a forum Thursday at the state Capitol, with staff from the offices of U.S. Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar and Congresswoman Betty McCollum in attendance. The forum commemorated Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day, and coincided with the announcement that the Democratic-led U.S. Senate was dropping the public option from its main health care bill.

“Keep the public option,” Minnesota Nurses Association President Linda Hamilton declared. Added Jennifer Munt, representing AFSCME Council 5, “For us, the main issue is a robust public option.”

State Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul and a registered nurse, posed questions at the forum as Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson looked on.

More pressure on Congress
In recent weeks, labor unions have stepped up their efforts to urge lawmakers to pass meaningful health care reform. Union members have visited Congressional offices and delivered thousands of letters.

Yet the bill taking shape in the U.S. Senate bears little resemblance to the goals outlined at the Minnesota health care forum.

It does not cover everyone nor does it appear to control insurance industry profits or the waste currently occurring in the health care system. Also missing is a focus on prevention and coverage for many people who earn too much to qualify for government-funded health care but not enough to afford private health insurance.

“Access to affordable medical care is recognized internationally as a human right and we are here today to urge our leaders to pass legislation that will provide access to health care for all Americans,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson, who convened the forum.

Real-life stories
Testimony at the forum was sprinkled with real-life examples of how the current patchwork insurance system is failing many Minnesotans.

Liz Freeberg, a member of the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate, Working America, said her family gets insurance coverage through her husband’s job, but the co-pays and deductibles are so high they really can’t afford to go to the doctor. She is worried there will be no public option in the final bill passed by Congress – or the public option will not be available to families like hers.

The growing number of uninsured people is straining the state’s chief safety-net hospital – Hennepin County Medical Center – and that has an effect on everyone whether or not they have coverage, AFSCME’s Munt said.

Thousands of uninsured people turn up in the emergency room of HCMC every year for routine care. At the same time, HCMC is also a major trauma center that treats many of the most difficult emergency cases.

Munt recounted the case of her mother, whose heart stopped after she had a heart attack.

She was immediately taken to HCMC – and survived. But “we were told that if she had arrived five or 10 minutes later, she wouldn’t have lived” because the lines for care were so long, Munt said.

Jason George, legislative director for Operating Engineers Local 49, also had a personal story. Thanks to his union’s comprehensive health coverage, he recently found out he is at risk for developing diabetes and is taking steps to address the risk.

True health reform would change how care is delivered and put a focus on prevention, he said. “We’d like to see payment for quality – not payment for procedures.”

Local 49, like many Building Trades unions, provided health care for members through a Taft-Hartley plan jointly administered with employers. The plan cuts out the insurance industry and pays hospitals, clinics and other providers directly.

Still, at $93 million per year, health care is by far the largest cost item in the union’s budget, George said.

“We know of the $93 million we spend, almost a third is wasted – in procedures that don’t need to be done and in procedures done incorrectly.

“When we pay for our own health care, we have a different perspective . . . Our members have a vested interest in seeing the system work efficiently.”

Health care is a top concern
David Wehde, regional director for Working America, said his organization goes door to door to ask people their concerns.

“Since we started organizing in Minnesota in 2006, the most common response has been health care,” he said. Wehde also said his canvassers have heard broad support for a public alternative to private insurance.

Knutson urged lawmakers to “find a way” to resolve the issues raised at the forum. “We’re seeing good, hard-working people who are going backwards” because of rising health care costs and lack of access, she said.

View video of the forum
Video by Jessica Hayssen, Minnesota AFL-CIO