Health care reform needs to be more affordable for low- and middle-income Americans. That's the message being sent today to Congress and President Obama by more than 750 local, state and national leaders including Community Catalyst. Read the letter here.
"On the critical question of making coverage affordable, the House legislation sets premiums and out-of-pocket costs at levels that are likely to be affordable to lower-income working families, " the letter reads, suggesting that though the Senate provides somewhat better protections for middle-income workers, the House version covers 5 million more people and provides better protection to lower-income people.
Though the letter's supporters do not endorse one particular version of the legislation, they do urge Congress and the President "to take the best elements of both approaches to create legislation that would protect all families from costs they cannot afford."
The signers include the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, state officials from Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas, medical leaders such as the President of UMass Memorial Health Care, and the heads of national organizations that represent millions, including SEIU, the American Heart Association, and AARP.
200 of these leaders plan to meet in Washington next Wednesday at an Affordability Summit to pass their message on to their Congressional delegations.
--Kate Petersen, Health Policy Hub