Health Care For All
Healthy students are crucial for great public schools
HIGHLIGHTS
The United States Senate and House of Representatives are currently negotiating a final health insurance reform bill.
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and other labor leaders have concluded a days-long intense negotiation with the White House and reached a tentative agreement on the controversial excise tax on higher cost health plans. The deal makes the bill fair to working families and brings us one step closer to meeting our goal of increasing the number of people who have access to quality, affordable health care.
With this agreement reached, work can now continue to pass needed health reform.
Why Health Insurance Reform is Important
- The bill under consideration goes a long way toward giving quality, affordable health care to more than 30 million Americans in this country – many of whom are children.
- Health care is an education issue. Our 3.2 million members educate our nation’s children. Students who come to school healthy and ready to learn will one day be prepared to be contributing members to the well-being and prosperity of our nation and the world.
- We cannot close the achievement gaps when so many of our student’s families don’t have job security, health care coverage, or access to living wages and benefits.
- Studies show that poor children (children below the poverty line and likely without health care coverage) are more likely than better-off children to suffer from a wide array of chronic health problems, such as asthma and digestive disorders, that affect school readiness in many ways.
Take Action: Tell Congress to finish the job and deliver a health reform bill that meets the needs of America’s families.
The National Education Association's Principles for Health Care Reform
Congress and the President have put comprehensive health care reform at the top of their agenda. The National Education Association believes this effort is vital to the nation's economic recovery and a crucial ingredient for great public schools for all students. Ensuring quality, affordable health care for everyone in America is fundamental not only to our economic future but also critically important to our nation's children and their families. Students can't learn unless they come to school healthy.
NEA's key messages on health care reform
- Support health reform to ensure that every person in America has quality, affordable health care coverage.
- Oppose proposals being discussed in the United States Senate that would limit or cap the employee tax exclusion for health benefits in any way (oppose taxing employer-provided health benefits).
- Health reform must guarantee a choice of plans and providers through a private health insurance plan (including one that employees may currently have through their employer) and a government sponsored public health insurance plan option. A public health insurance plan option should not be delayed but established immediately and should be an integral part of any health care reform initiative.
TAKE ACTION
Tell Congress to finish the job and deliver a health reform bill that meets the needs of America’s families.
Why I Support Health Care Reform
A Montana educator and lifelong Republican says the status quo has got to go.
Health Care for America Now!
NEA is a member of Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a national grassroots campaign of more than 850 organizations dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care. Find out more about HCAN here.
NEA is also a member of the National Coalition on Health Care.
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Watch Health Care Reform in Action Across the USA
Visit Health Care for America Now's You Tube channel to see the latest videos calling for quality, universal coverage for every American.
