Nurses Blast "cruel trick" by the insurance Giants

Copyright: PR Newswire
Source: PR Newswire
Wordcount: 380

OAKLAND, California, March 25 / PRNewswire / - The largest organization of nurses, today condemned the conditional offer of the insurance industry to stop denying coverage for people in exchange for a massive government bailout.

On Tuesday, the assurance of the American trade lobby health insurance and Blue Cross Blue Shield and offered to stop denying coverage to those who have pre-existing - but only if the plan to reform health care currently before Congress contains a requirement forcing all Americans to purchase private insurance - and if Congress rejects a proposal to include an alternative for those not wishing to private insurance.

"This is not a sign of flexibility at all, it's blackmail," said Geri Jenkins, RN, co-president of the 85,000-member California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee.

"They are willing to scale back on their immoral denial of coverage for people who are sick, even those who have minor illnesses, if billions of dollars in payments to individuals and grants from the government," said Jenkins.

The insurer of the proposal "amply demonstrates what is so fundamentally wrong with our system of insurance. The decisions that patients can receive medical care are not based on the needs of the patient, but how many 'private insurers can. "


Nurses, "said Jenkins, also was troubled by the reaction of legislators and others who praised the proposal.

"In a more rational public debate on health care reform, we would be emphasizing that all Americans should be guaranteed coverage and full access to necessary medical care, regardless of prior disease or ability to pay. However, we are treated to a masquerade makers continue to solicit proposals that protect the insurance business priorities rather than on what is best for the tens of millions of Americans, the collapse sustainable and broken health care system, "said Jenkins.

"Only reforms will achieve this objective and at the end of our national health care emergency, a single payer, such as the expansion and improvement of health coverage at all," Jenkins said, as proposed in HR 676, a bill by Rep. John Conyers.

CNA / NNOC is the largest and fastest growing organization of nurses in the United States with 85,000 members in 50 states.

SOURCE California Nurses Association

CONTACT: Charles Idelson, +1-415-559-8991 or +1-510-273-2246, or Shum Preston, +1-415-412-0825, both for California Nurses Association



This is an information service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service © 2006. This content is only for your personal use, subject to the terms and conditions. No redistribution allowed.