http://capwiz.com/familiesusa/issues/alert/?alertid=43194&type=CO&azip URGE YOUR SENATORS TO SUPPORT HEALTH BENEFITS FOR UNEMPLOYED WORKERS
Many of our organizations have been working hard to influence the debate about the economic stimulus package. Our priority has been to use it as a vehicle for getting health coverage for those who have lost their jobs and health insurance. The House of Representatives has passed a Republican-sponsored bill that provides $3 billion for some vague relief for people hurt by the recent economic downturn, which would be delivered by the Social Services Block Grant program (which has generally not been used in the past for health care). The House's priorities are to simulate the economy by giving more tax breaks to business, letting whatever benefit that may have trickle down to working families.
The Senate is getting ready to pass its bill very soon. The immediate action is in the Senate Finance Committee, where Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has a good proposal that he developed with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). It provides for $17 billion of health benefits for recently unemployed workers by subsidizing COBRA coverage (which enables some workers to continue their employer coverage), and it provides access to Medicaid benefits for workers not eligible for COBRA (largely because they work in small companies or for companies that are failing and no longer provide benefits).
It's important to contact your Senators now in support of providing health benefits to unemployed people. Senate Finance Committee members are especially important.
If you are in a Senate Finance Committee state, please call your Senator. You can also send e-mail.
Our newest analysis of this issue, Key Facts on Providing Health Insurance to Newly Unemployed Workers, is available on our Web site at (http://www.familiesusa.org/media/pdf/stimulus.pdf).
There are also some other background materials on this debate that you can access through our Web site's home page at (http://familiesusa.org). In these highly troubling times, our chances of making progress are limited. That's why it's especially important to make sure that this opportunity to provide health coverage to at least some vulnerable people doesn't get wasted.
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