AFL-CIO Health Care Survey Show Unemployed Struggling from Rising Health Care Costs

May 19, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) – People who have lost jobs in the economic downturn are being saddled with the high costs of health care, according to preliminary results of an ongoing online health care survey sponsored by the AFL-CIO (www.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org).

Of 16,000 people who have taken the online survey to date, nearly 4,000 report that they or someone in their household have lost their health care due to losing or changing jobs. Survey responses will be accepted through May.

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The survey responses come from every state and the District of Columbia, with heavy representation from states such as Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin. More than 4,300 of the survey respondents have included stories of individual struggles with the nation’s health care system. Stories can found online at www.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org.

A breast cancer survivor wrote that she was recently laid off after 11 years in the auto industry. Her union contract ensures that she’ll have coverage for 25 months but with so many companies going into bankruptcy, she lives with the fear that her coverage will run out. She says she can’t imagine going into the market and trying to get another plan with a “pre-existing condition.”

“Pre-existing condition” is a phrase that scares me more than “recurrence’ does,” she wrote. “When people ask if I have insurance, my reply is ‘I have insurance for today.”

Instead of enjoying her golden years, the wife of a retiree told of how she has been forced to go back to work just to help pay health care expenses for herself and her husband. After being turned down by several companies she received coverage through COBRA. She says they live just to pay their health care bills and still don’t get the coverage they need.

These are just a few of the thousands of stories that show the urgency of reforming our health care system. In addition, people tell of the high costs, lack of coverage for students, inadequate military retirement coverage, cancer diagnoses they can’t afford to treat and other medical issues that are being neglected due to inadequate coverage.

“This survey is showing that, in today’s economy, it is more urgent than ever that we work toward health care reform that provides quality, affordable coverage for everyone, including those who are unemployed or between jobs,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “People who work hard all their lives and pay their fair share should not be hung out to dry during hard times. These stories serve as a constant reminder that our current system is broken and we must reform it now.”

The AFL-CIO survey is open to the public. The survey features multiple choice questions on how people feel about the current state of health care as well as an option to share personal stories. Those interested in participating can go to: www.healthcaresurvey.aflcio.org.

Source: AFL-CIO