Tell Obama want you want in health care reform

It's looking more and more like 2009 could really be the year that Congress passes, and the president signs, comprehensive health reform. And the Obama health team is inviting the public to speak up on what kind of reform it would like to see.

We should accept the invitation. We should let the Obama team know what we think.

Tom Daschle, health coordinator for the transition, who last week was named by President-elect Barack Obama as his choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services and as chief of a new White House office for health reform, is leading the effort to gather input.

According to Daschle, more than 1,000 people have signed up to host discussions on health over the next few weeks. And thousands more have posted their ideas and opinions on the transition Web site.

So, click on one or both, and speak up. If you use our link to send a message, I'll get a copy automatically. If you decide to host a discussion, use our contact form to let us know about it.

What do we want to say? We want to stress CWA's five principles for health reform: cover everyone; control costs; strong government role; improve quality; and broad-based financing.

Beyond those broad principles, there are two areas of particular concern to us:

• Every employer should be required to offer decent benefits or to pay into a public plan. No employer should be allowed to freeload on its competitors by offering skimpy coverage or none at all.
• While recent health coverage expansions have focused on children - and that's a good thing - those aged 55 to 64 remain a vulnerable group. They are too young for Medicare, but their age and health status frequently make private health insurance plans unaffordable, for themselves or their employers. This vulnerable group must be protected, and that employers who have shouldered the cost burden should be offered relief.