Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the Coalition to Advance Health Reform

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Caren Benjamin 202-637-5018

Statement by AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney
on the Coalition to Advance Health Reform
May 8, 2007

We welcome the announcement from the Coalition to Advance Health Reform and  the member employers who have pledged to work toward health care for all  Americans.  Employment-based health coverage is the backbone of health care  financing in the United States.  Today, the continued viability of this  approach as the path for affordable, comprehensive health benefits for  America's working families is at risk due to ever-escalating health costs, a  severely broken private insurance market, and systemic quality problems.

Costs that put coverage out of reach for tens of millions of workers and  their families also burden American employers that sponsor health coverage and contribute significantly towards the cost of that coverage. These  companies are being squeezed by unscrupulous competitors in the domestic  marketplace and threatened internationally by companies in countries that  don't burden employers with health costs one by one.

Corporate sponsors of health coverage need a level-playing field where all  employers and individuals participate, where everyone pays their fair share  for health benefits, and where there is a rigorous system of measuring and  reporting on a wide array of quality of care standards. For everyone's sake,  it is critical that government play a leading role in organizing and  financing health coverage and reject the laissez-faire approach of the  current Administration.

The unions of the AFL-CIO are active partners with their employers in  providing health benefits and are working for the systemic changes that will  make the idea of universal, affordable coverage a reality in our country.   To that end, we applaud the businesses and providers in the Coalition to  Advance Healthcare Reform for their initiative. While we are concerned that  the Coalitions principles for reform rely on an unreliable private market  and place an unequal burden on individuals to obtain coverage, we pledge to  work with CAHR and others in the crucial effort to achieve national  consensus on how to improve health care in the United States.  Clearly, this national debate must include meaningful and reliable coverage options and  shared responsibility.