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In Michigan, No One Should Go Without Healthcare Did you know: 47 million Americans are living without health insurance. This costs the average working family $1000 a year. Working families make up 80% of the uninsured in America. More than 80% of Americans want a better health care system for our country. 9 out of 10 people want to choose their own doctor. We need health care plans to make this happen. 94% of voters in the 2006 nationwide election were insured. All Michigan family members deserve healthcare coverage, both as active employees and as retirees. That’s what the members of Michigan’s unions think and continue to fight for. Unions believe no one’s healthcare is safe until everyone’s healthcare is safe. That may take a national plan. It may take a state referendum that provides coverage for everyone in Michigan. But one thing’s for sure: It will certainly take everyone working together. We want to work with you. You don’t have to be a union member. For more information, please visit these websites:
 Join the AFL-CIO's Working Families e-Activist Network and get updates sent to you on the health care campaign and other issues that affect America's working families.
Pending Federal Legislative Efforts Supported by the Michigan State AFL-CIO: H. R. 676 - The United States National Health Insurance Act H.R. 676 was introduced in the U.S. House in 2007 by Representative John Conyers. The Michigan AFL-CIO supports this bill because it’s a single payer plan that removes the profit from the system and forces savings in administration. It may be the only workable solution. H.R.2034 – Medicare for All Act H.R. 2034 was introduced in U.S. House on 4/25/2007 by Representative John Dingell. It will expand Medicare, one of our most effective entitlement programs, so that children and families can receive the care they need to stay healthy. With this bill, Medicare will be available to everyone under age 65. Americans will also have the option of selecting any of the plans offered to members of Congress, the President, and federal employees or keep what they have today. People with lower incomes will continue to receive extra help with cost sharing and premiums in order to access Medicare services. Not only will covering all Americans improve millions of lives, it will actually save money by reducing emergency room costs and increasing access to prevention services and earlier treatments. Finally, the Michigan AFL-CIO supports the Medicare for All Act because we will all reap the benefits of a healthier nation, a stronger economy and lower health insurance costs. House Approves Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act
State and Local Healthcare Organizations Working for Health Care for All: Economic Alliance of Michigan In 1982, The Economic Alliance for Michigan was founded as a private non-profit corporation by companies and unions in the for-profit sector. The objective was to establish a forum for working together on those Michigan business and jobs issues on which they agree. Currently, The Economic Alliance of Michigan is working on healthcare. Rapid health cost escalation is an increasingly difficult burden on business and generates pressures to reduce jobs in Michigan, cut benefits and/or increase costs for workers. Through The Economic Alliance for Michigan, business and labor work together to offset some of the major causes of those cost increases. Generally, they oppose healthcare mandates – and so does the Michigan State AFL-CIO.
AEPC (AFL-CIO Employer Purchasing Coalition) The AEPC is a not-for-profit corporation that was established in 1993 to assist organized labor in the group purchasing of health care services. Since its creation, AEPC has developed value-based purchasing programs for prescription drugs, dental and vision services. These programs not only leverage the APEC purchasing power of nearly 240,000 covered lives, but also provide improvements in the quality of services provided to members. AEPC is actively undertaking initiatives to enhance the value of preferred provider networks. AEPC is involved in community-based quality improvement projects, including, but not limited to the Greater Detroit Area Health Council’s eValue8 initiative that drives quality improvements in local PPOs and HMOs. AEPC also works with both its members and other community purchasers on key legislative issues. Currently, AEPC is offering a money-saving Prescription Discount Card. To learn more about AEPC programs, email Suzanne Paranjpe at
Cover the Uninsured Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Cover the Uninsured is a national campaign that focuses on demonstrating broad support for the reauthorization of SCHIP and the need to cover America's uninsured children. Get Ready for Cover the Uninsured Week 2008, April 27-May! Michigan Universal Healthcare Access Network Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network (MichUHCAN) is a state-wide network that promotes comprehensive health care for all through education, strategy development and advocacy. The Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. Herndon Alliance The Herndon Alliance is a nationwide non-partisan coalition of more than 100 minority, faith, labor, advocacy, business, and healthcare provider organizations. It is expanding the base of people supporting affordable healthcare for all, and increasing the breadth and depth of voices working and speaking out for healthcare reform. They focus mainly on message and framing the national affordable healthcare debate. Health Care for Michigan Health Care for Michigan is a group of health care, labor and civil rights activists who are collecting 475,000 signatures by July 7 as part of an effort to get the state constitution amended. If passed, the measure would require the Legislature to come up with a solution for the state's 1.1 million uninsured residents and to address the spiraling costs of health care. The Michigan AFL-CIO supports this important effort.
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