Thousands to rally for health care reform

June 24, 2009

In what is expected to be the largest rally supporting national health care reform in American history, 2,000 AFSCME members are expected to join thousands of other union members and their allies from across the nation this Thursday on Capitol Hill for National Health Care Reform Rally and Lobby Day.

The need to improve America’s health care system is critical. More than 47 million Americans lack health insurance coverage, and the cost of going to the emergency room is passed along to those who are covered. Meanwhile, health care companies continue to rake it in: Profits at 10 of the country’s largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent from 2000 to 2007, according to Health Care for America Now! (HCAN), organizer of the rally.

AFSCME is a founding member of HCAN, a national grassroots campaign to win quality, affordable health care for all, that represents a collective 30 million people nationwide.

After the rally, which starts at 11:30 a.m. at Upper Senate Park, participants will attend “town hall” meetings and lobby lawmakers. Their goal: build public support for a new national health care system that provides people with the option of keeping their current private insurance plan if they’ve got one they like, or selecting a public health insurance option that guarantees affordable coverage (and eliminates the private insurer middleman). Learn more on the HCAN website.