Resources and Reports
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A Public Health Insurance Plan: Reducing Costs and Improving Quality
Report from Institute for America’s Future draws on research to demonstrate the benefits of offering a public health insurance plan, like Medicare for people under 65, as an alternative to private health insurance companies.
Materials, Reports & Studies
A Tale of 2 Countries
This short video, produced by the Canadian Media Guild-CWA, contrasts the Canadian health care system with the approach used in the United States.
Videos
AFL-CIO endorsement of H.R. 3962
AFL-CIO supports the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962 in a letter to Congress.
Bills
Alliance for Retired Americas endorsement of H.R. 3962
The Alliance for Retired Americans, and AFL-CIO-affiliated organization, supports the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962.
Bills
American Health Care Since 1994: The Unacceptable Status Quo
From the Center for American Progress. Looking at the 15 years since the Clinton health reform effort failed, "years of skyrocketing costs, increasing numbers of uninsured, and inconsistent quality of care."
Materials, Reports & Studies
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Providing Health Care to Those in Need
AFL-CIO summary of highlights of health-related investments in the stimulus bill, that will provide "health care to those in need while making a down payment on health reforms that will save billions of dollars and countless lives."
Materials, Reports & Studies
Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education: No Recovery in Sight
Two researchers at University of California at Berkeley calculate that the recession has increased the number of uninsured in the United States by 3.7 million -- and that the situation won’t improve, even when the economy does. One of the authors is Dave Graham-Squire, a member of CWA Local 9119 and vice-president local’s chapter at Berkeley.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Biden on Health Care from CWA Convention
Vice President Joe Biden discusses health care reform at CWA's 2009 Convention and Legislative-Political Conference.
Videos
Call to Action: Health Care Reform
November 12, 2008
Senator Max Baucus's vision for comprehensive health reform. The plan adresses health care coverage, quality, and cost.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Center for American Progress: Health Policy and the Economic Crisis
October 29, 2008
Testimony of the Center for American Progress's Jeanne Lambrew on the relationship between the economic crisis and health policy.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Choice of public or private health insurance plans
Should buyers of health insurance be able to select coverage from a public health insurance plan, similar to Medicare, as well as policies from insurance companies?
Issues
Commonwealth Fund: How Many Are Underinsured? Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2003 and 2007
It’s not just the 47 million uninsured who have trouble paying for the health care they need. This report estimates another 25 million are underinsured – they have coverage that doesn’t pay for needed services or hits patients with unaffordable deductibles and co-payments.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Commonwealth Fund: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families
This report, from 2008, looks at how growing medical debt is burdening families.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
Commonwealth Fund: Results from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2008
Comparing U.S. Health System performance overall with other developed countries and with top-performing states. The report finds U.S. performance has declined slightly in the past four years.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Comparative effectiveness research
How can we be sure that our health dollars are spent wisely, not wasted on treatments that don’t help patients? Comparative effectiveness research - studying whether one treatment or drug is more effective than another - has the potential to help doctors make better decisions that will help patients have better outcomes of care.
Issues
Comparison of CWA’s Health Care Priorities with Bills in Congress, longer version
A two-page chart that compares three current (as of Oct. 5, 2009) health reform bills as far as how they address CWA's priorities for health reform: no taxation of benefits, employers pay fair share, affordable coverage for pre-Medicare retirees, and public plan option.
Materials, CWA Docs
Comparison of CWA’s Health Care Priorities with Bills in Congress, shorter version
A one-page chart that compares three current (as of Oct. 5, 2009) health reform bills as far as how they address CWA's priorities for health reform: no taxation of benefits, employers pay fair share, affordable coverage for pre-Medicare retirees, and public plan option.
Materials, CWA Docs
Comparison of CWA’s Health Care Priorities with H.R. 3200
Fact sheet shows how the major health reform legislation in the House meets CWA's priorities for fixing the health system.
Materials, CWA Docs
Comparison of Employer Responsibility Provisions in the Senate and House Health Care Bills
Compares three current (as of Oct. 7, 2009) health reform bills in terms of what they do to make sure employers all pay their fair share.
Materials, CWA Docs
Congressional Research Service - Health Care Reform: An Introduction
The non-partisan research staff for Congress outlines issues to be considered in health reform.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
CWA legislative fact sheet on health reform
Explains CWA's top priorities for health reform legislation this year, with supporting facts and graphs - perfect for a meeting with your Member of Congress.
Materials, CWA Docs
CWA’s Health Care Reform Priorities for 2009
As legislation is getting crafted in Washington, CWA's Health Care Campaign has gone beyond the general principles of 2008 to a more specific list of priorities for inclusion in any reform.
Materials, CWA Docs
CWA’s Health Care Reform Principles
Detailed information on CWA’s five principles for health care reform: cover everyone; control costs; strong government role; improve quality; and broad-based financing.
CWA Fact Sheets and Resources
Excise Tax on Insurance Plans is a Tax on Workers’ Health Benefits by Another Name
CWA explains what's wrong with a proposal by the Senate Finance Committee, to tax benefits. The fact sheet calculates the impact on CWA members and their employers.
Materials, CWA Docs
Excise Tax on Insurance Plans is a Tax on Workers’ Health Benefits by Another Name: Shorter Version
CWA explains what's wrong with a proposal by the Senate Finance Committee, to tax benefits. This two-page fact sheet calculates the impact on CWA members and their employers.
Materials, CWA Docs
Families USA
Consumer advocacy group and clearing house for health information, dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Also see its project Web site, Stand Up for Health Care.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
Health Care Excise Tax = A Big Middle Class Tax Increase
October 13, 2009
A proposed tax on health benefits, included in a health reform bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee, would mean an average tax of $7,800 on many working families, according to the analysis by the CWA Research Department.Materials, CWA Docs, Reports & Studies
Health Care Value Comparability Study
The Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of large companies, finds that health costs put U.S. workers and companies at a competitive disadvantage compared to other industrial countries.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Health Costs: A Primer
Kaiser Family Foundation explains trends in health costs and factors that contribute to their escalation.
Materials, Reports & Studies
History of Health Reform in the United States
Kaiser Family Foundation traces many years of efforts to reform the American health system, putting current reform proposals in historical context.
Materials, Reports & Studies
How Capping the Tax Exclusion May Disproportionately Burden Children and Families
A study by Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute find that taxing health benefits could hit families and children hardest.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Insurance Company Rules
July 19, 2008
Check out "Insurance Company Rules" - a collaboration between Health Care For America Now (HCAN) and Public Service Administration (PSA).
Videos
Kaiser Family Foundation
A leader in health policy and communications, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S., with a growing role in global health. Unlike grant-making foundations, Kaiser develops and runs its own research and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with other non-profit research organizations or major media companies. Kaiser Family Foundation serves as a non-partisan source of facts, information, and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the public.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
Kaiser Family Foundation: Glossary of Key Health Reform Terms
Adverse Selection? Case Management? Guaranteed Issue? Purchasing Pool? All the definitions you need to understand what the wonks in Washington are saying.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
Losing and gaining health coverage: state-by-state numbers
There are plenty of national estimates on how many people will lose health insurance without health reform and how many will gain coverage under various reform plans. But Families USA, a consumer advocacy groups, provides state-by-state estimates - useful for talking points with elected officials - showing current rate of coverage loss and potential gains under the House reform bill, which has been endorsed by CWA.
Materials, Reports & Studies
More Employers Taking Aim at Retiree Health Benefits
This piece from the March, 2008 CWA News profiles the fight for retiree health benefits at Embarq, General Motors, Verizon, and United Airlines.
Materials, CWA Docs
New America Foundation: The Cost of Doing Nothing
November 13, 2008
This report provides both a national overview and a state-by-state look at the costs of doing nothing about health care reform. The companion State of State Health website shows state rankings and allows you to zero in on key facts about each state.
Materials, Reports & Studies
New report: So-called “Cadillac” tax would actually impact 40% of health care plans
Press release and summary of report by CWA's research department on Senate Finance Committee legislation which would tax our health benefits.
Materials, CWA Docs, Reports & Studies
NPR’s “Health Care for All”
National Public Radio presents a variety of audio and video reports on health systems which attempt to cover all people. Most focus on how different European systems work.
Materials, Reports & Studies
OECD Health Data 2008: How does the United States compare
Tracking health system performance in 30 developed countries. The United States often lags behind its peers in such measures as infant mortality.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Our Bottom Line for Health Care Reform
An advertisement - placed by CWA, the AFL-CIO and about two dozen other international unions - in the Washington Post and other newspapers on Oct, 14, 2009. The ad says the unions will oppose the bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee unless, it is changed in a way that "makes substantial progress to address the concerns of working men and women."
Materials, CWA Docs
Premiums Soaring in Consolidated Health Insurance Market
This report from Health Care for America Now!, one of CWA's partner organizations, shows how insurance mergers are leading to near-monopolies, driving up premiums and fattening insurance company profits.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Should health benefits be taxed, and, if so, how?
Currently, workers who receive health insurance from their employers don't pay income or payroll tax on the benefit. Employers also generally can deduct the cost of health benefits from their income. There are a variety of proposals to change this by making some or all of health benefits subject to federal taxes.
Issues
The Baucus Plan
December 12, 2008
Sen. Max Baucus chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee. As the committee which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, it has a key role in any health reform efforts. Baucus, a moderate, was seen by some as a potential obstacle to reform, but he took a leading position on the issue when he issued the Baucus plan in November.
The Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private, charitable foundation created to promote a health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable populations. The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practices and policies.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
The Economic Case for Health Care Reform
The White House Council of Economic Advisers projects that health reform would improve the economy and lead to higher wages.
Materials, Reports & Studies
The National Coalition on Health Care
Coalition of large and small businesses, labor, consumer, religious and health provider groups, and the health and pension funds. CWA is a member.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System: A 2020 Vision and the Policies to Pave the Way
Proposals from Commonwealth Fund to offer affordable coverage to all Americans, improve quality and reduce spending growth.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Three Bills for Health Care Reform
October 1, 2009
U.S. Congressman and Senators have put forward three different bills to overhaul the United States health care system. Each proposal has many distinct differences from its respectful counterparts.Three committees in the House of Representatives have come together to put forward one of the bills. The other two bills come from the Senate. One was approved by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the other is currently being worked on by the Senate Finance Committee.
Read more about the health care bills.
Bills
Union Members Support Health Care Reform
November 2, 2009
Communications Workers of America Retiree Betty Diamond explains why health care reform matters to her.Videos
Universal Health Care Action Network
National network of state advocacy groups supporting universal, affordable health coverage.
Materials, Health Policy Organizations
What’s in Health Care Reform for Me? (one-page version)
CWA counters the misinformation and disinformation spread by opponents of health reform. This fact sheet is handy for bulletin boards, lobbying or membership distribution.
Materials, CWA Docs
What’s in Health Care Reform for Me? (two-page version)
CWA counters the misinformation and disinformation spread by opponents of health reform. This fact sheet is handy for bulletin boards, lobbying or membership distribution.
Materials, CWA Docs
Will a “play or pay” policy for health care cause job losses?
A report for the Campaign for America's Future and the Economic Policy Institute projects that a requirement for employers to offer health coverage or pay into a fund - known as "play or pay" - is likely to create additional jobs.
Materials, Reports & Studies
Winning the Debate on Health Care Reform
A short guide to compelling arguments in the health care reform debate, from Herndon Alliance and Third Way, including "phrases that work" and "phrases that don't work."
Materials, Lobbying Materials
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Latest Video
Latest News
11/19/09 – What the opponents and special interests are up to
11/13/09 – Women pay more: a reminder of why we need health reform
11/12/09 – Benefits for working families from H.R. 3962
11/11/09 – Uninsured veterans dying: a reminder of why we need health reform
11/10/09 – Report finds health quality “flat-lining;” reforms could restore momentum