Resource Archives

Boston, MA
Faneuil Hall, September 1st, 2005

A diverse group of seniors, workers, caregivers, immigrants, women, people of color, the uninsured, and elected officials testified in support of HR 676. Some testimonies are featured below.

About Access:
Gerald CW Heng, Attorney, President of the Association of Asian-American Foundation (pictured to the right)
“My family and I have lived in Britian and Canada, and used the National Health System. One of our kids was born in London, and we were lawful residents, but not citizens. Still we were given the same health care as British citizens. The U.S. system seems fraught with bureaucracy and paper chases, while the insurance industry makes a profit.”

Kathleen Bitetti, Director, Artists Foundation (pictured to the left)
“As Mayor Menino said in our report to Congress, “Boston is one of the great cultural centers of the U.S. and artists make a tremendous contribution to the vitality and livability of our City.”

About Quality:
Ann Eldridge Malone, RN, MSN, works as RN in community health and as Director of the Alliance to Defend Health Care.: (pictured to the left )“In Massachusetts, and in every state, our passive acceptance of the private health insurance industry and other market-driven players in our health care system has been very bad for our health. As a direct result of these market-driven forces, our country has unwittingly created a maze of public and private insurance programs. The effect is to fragment care -- driving quality down -- and driving health costs up.”

Lisa Renee Siciliano, Director, Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network: “If you think Medicaid recipients receive the same quality of health care as individuals with private insurance; you are mistaken. Unfortunately, our country has a high tolerance for inequities, as we see daily in our fragmented health care system.”

About Cost:
Anne Shuhler, Co-Owner, Classic Copy & Printing, Cambridge
“I am paying as much for health insurance for my employees as I pay to lease my copiers each year. I am constantly in the position of choosing between paying more of the health insurance premium or investing in my business so I can grow.” Katie Murphy, RN, Chair, Board of Selectmen for the Town of Framingham “Today in Framingham, one out of every seven municipal dollars is spent on employee health insurance. With several years of decreased state aid to municipalities and the realities of Proposition 2 1/2, health insurance is becoming a budget-buster and an enormous challenge to cities and towns. Because we pay full insurance for retirees, things are getting worse as more teachers retire at age 57.”

Dan O’Leary, Director, Mystic Valley Elder Services (pictured left) “As a Director of a non-profit, I am sadly faced with choices such as maintaining our contribution toward the premium costs, or laying off staff while elder needs increase.”

Carol Cormier, member of IUE-CWA Local 201 and employee at Ametek Aerospace (pictured right)
“When profitable companies like GE get away with passing costs onto their employees and retirees, they have no incentive to work for meaningful reforms in the way that health care is provided and paid for. And in the case of GE, because there is no effective cost controls on health care spending, it reaps additional billions of dollars in sales from its lucrative Medical Systems Division.

 

 

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