AFL-CIO 2009 Health CareSurvey: Results Are In

The more than 23,000 of you who took the online 2009 Health Care for America Survey made it clear:

 Our health care system is failing us, and we need relief from costs that are bankrupting families, endangering our health and hobbling businesses. That’s why it’s so important that we let Congress know they must hang in there and get health care reform done!

In the survey, sponsored by the AFL-CIO and Working America, nearly one-third reported skipping important medical care because of costs. Almost everyone is dissatisfied with health care costs—including nearly three-quarters of people with insurance. And 6,409 of you were so motivated that you took the time to share personal stories about your experiences with health care.

 In the current economic crisis, 97 percent say health care reform is urgent. With Congress working on legislation right now, it is critical that your senators and representatives hear from you.

1) Read the report and personal stories and pass them along.

2) Tell your members of Congress we need real health care reform now.

The survey shows that every day people are being forced to make life-and-death decisions: Pay their health care premiums or buy the life-saving prescription? Chip away at credit card debt or skip the required care for a serious chronic condition?

This is not acceptable. We must have real health care reform now.

That’s what the 23,460 people who took the 2009 Health Care for America Survey—and the 6,409 who submitted heart-wrenching personal stories—demand. You and others who took the survey reveal the real-world toll of soaring health care costs, lack of insurance, systemic flaws in our health care system and the economic downturn.

Read the full report here, including thousands of categorized stories.

Your survey responses further reinforce the three key elements in real health care reform:

• A strong public health insurance plan must be available to lower costs and make sure everybody has a health care option.

   

• All employers should be required to either provide health care to their employees or pay into a system to make sure everyone is covered.

   

• Workers’ health care benefits must not be taxed—we’re already paying too much.

Contact your representative and senators today. Tell them health care reform must include each of these elements.

It is vitally important that your representative and senators hear from constituents like you. Together, we can ensure that everyone in America has high-quality health care.