Bridging the gap on health care

Eight out of 10 of the 44 million people in the U.S. who lack health insurance come from working families. It’s a national problem that needs a national solution.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), along with its Americans for Health Care project, Jobs with Justice, and Rock the Vote, are sponsoring June 19 actions in some 35 cities across the country to “bridge the gap.”

“In the wealthiest country in the world, every man, woman and child should have access to quality, affordable health care, but instead, more and more working families cannot afford the health coverage they need,” said Andrew L. Stern, president of SEIU, the nation’s largest union of health care workers.

Under President Bush, 4 million more Americans lost their coverage, average health care costs have risen nearly 50 percent, and premiums have gone up more than three times faster than average wages.

June 19 events are being organized locally, with major actions across bridges in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Denver, Pittsburgh, Iowa City, and Providence, R.I., among others. For more information on these actions, visit www.BridgingTheGapForHealthCare.org.