Women in Colorado who purchase insurance on the individual market currently pay up to 59 percent more than men for coverage that doesn't even include maternity care. Now, a group of agents and insurance company representatives in their state are trying to keep it that way.

The Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters plans to lobby against efforts to include maternity care in individual plans, in addition their efforts to keep "gender rating" legal, and you won't believe why: insurers are actually telling legislators that they're concerned about how this all might affect men.

State Sen. Morgan Carroll, a Democrat from Aurora, gives us a peek at what they're telling state legislators. "The insurance industry lobbied against the bill prohibiting gender discrimination," says Carroll. "They met with lawmakers and were able to convince a handful that the rate discrimination was: a) justified; b) its removal would drive up men's rates."

Justifying their stance on "gender rating" and maternity care, CSAHU spokesperson and lobbyist Cindy Sovine-Miller accused the Colorado legislators of being "[...] more about fairness than math." Funny, that's not what others say. "At our hearings this summer, the insurance industry provided no justifiable data or reason for their charging women from 9 percent to 50 percent more for the same policy," wrote Democratic State Rep. Sue Schafer of Wheat Ridge. "Even men who smoke are charged less than women who do not smoke. Just being female is considered a pre-existing condition."

And speaking of health care "math," we simply can't ignore "math" like this:

• 64 million women in America do not have adequate health insurance coverage.
• Gender discrimination results in women routinely being charged up to 48% more in premiums than men for the same coverage through the individual market.
• A recent poll shows that 86% of those polled favor requiring insurance companies to provide maternity care as part of basic coverage.

Another Colorado group, the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado (PIIAC), doesn't want to get all mucked up in the details. Instead, they're justifying their position on "gender rating" with a lesson on anatomy:

"The bottom line is this," said the group's executive VP Barbara Fidler. "As crude as it sounds, we women are more costly relative to our health care. Our plumbing -- I don't mean to sound crude -- the gender differences are clearly related to how we're different... I'm not saying that it's fair for women to be rated why they are. I think it's just important to understand."

If insurance lobbyists like CSAHU & PIIAC had their way, women Peggy Robertson would continue to be discriminated against for wanting to have more children. After deciding to stay home following the C-section birth of her second son, Peggy ventured to look for an independent health insurance plan. Instead of comprehensive coverage, Peggy's insurance company (a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group) offered her this little gem of advice: get sterilized--or you won't get coverage. Never mind the fact that over 30% of births in America are performed via C-section.

Once again, it's evident that when insurance companies win, women lose.

It's time to make sure our members of Congress hear their voices above those of the insurance lobbyists: http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/peggy

UPDATE: Check out the first page of the letter that Golden Rule sent to Peggy rejecting her application and suggesting she gets sterilized.

Today, at Sen. Mikulski's HELP Committee hearing "What Women Want: Equal Benefits for Equal Premiums," we met Peggy Robertson. Peggy is a mother of two young boys, living in Colorado with her husband. Over the past few years, Peggy and her family have faced not one but two shocking cases of insurance company abuse. First, in 2007, Peggy was denied coverage by Golden Rule insurance, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (the largest insurance company in the US), because of a previous c-section birth. What happened next is shocking (Sen. Mikulski called it "bone-chilling" and "morally repugnant"): Golden Rule said they would cover Peggy if she agreed to be sterilized.

Peggy shared this story with the HELP Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Mikulski today, and later with us:

Peggy was horrified by the insurance company's request for sterilization, and decided to take action. She went online and found the International Cesarean Action Network (ICAN). They helped Peggy get her story out, and brought her to Washington this week to testify before Congress.

But, if that wasn't enough, Peggy's story gets worse: her three-year-old son, Luke, has been denied insurance twice. Peggy shared Luke's story (which is reminiscent of Alex Lange, the baby who was deemed "too fat" to insure) with the HELP Committee:

Luke is currently covered by a special program in Colorado meant to provide coverage for the terminally ill and those who can't get insurance elsewhere, but there is nothing wrong with him!

It's hard to say which is worse: demanding a woman get sterilized prior to getting insurance or denying her three-year-old son insurance coverage because he's too short. What happened to Peggy Robertson and her family is further proof that we need health insurance reform now - it's time to deliver.

In August, we took our message of health care reform to our elected officials during town halls all across the country, and they listened. But, now that they are back in Washington, they are again under the influence of the insurance industry, which is fighting hard to defeat real reform.

So now we need to take on the insurance industry! Today, SEIU members all over the country took part in the "Big Insurance: Sick of It" rallies hosted by MoveOn, HCAN and our other progressive allies. From LA to New York, members arrived at offices of major health insurance providers and demanded to know why they were standing in the way of health care reform.

MINNESOTA: Fifty SEIU members joined nearly 250 other activists in marching up to the doors of UnitedHealthcare. They presented their demands to UHC representatives, and staged a 15-minute die-in to bring home the point that insurance companies are truly killing Americans. Local member Tammy Brown, who participated in the protest, said, "Big insurance companies are a roadblock to reform. As long as they keeping reaping record profits, the rest of us will keep losing our raises, our health, and even our lives."

FLORIDA: A group of 60 people protested outside the headquarters of Hygeia, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare Group. A delegation of eight protestors met with Hygeia representatives and presented them with their demands.

NORTH DAKOTA: Fifty local activists met with the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Blue Cross/ Blue Shield in Fargo, North Dakota. She promised that BCBS would respond to their demands in writing by Friday, and suggested they also meet with the company's CEO.

NEBRASKA: A small group of SEIU members and supporters, led by a local pastor, formed a prayer circle outside the offices of UnitedHealthcare. The pastor also tried to deliver the group's demands to UHC executives, but the staff locked the doors to the building and would not let him enter.

NEW YORK: About 500 people attended an event outside the UHC offices at 1 Penn Plaza. One of the speakers, a new member of 32BJ, recounted how he was forced to go into debt paying for his wife's cancer treatment. Recently, he finally received health insurance, which has allowed him to pay for her medication.

COLORADO: Over 150 people, including 40 SEIU members, protested outside the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield building in Denver. Three of the participants shared their personal stories about being denied health insurance. Their stories were then underscored by a street theater demonstration that made the same point. The event culminated with three activists attempting to deliver the protestors' demands to BCBS officials. They were turned away at the front door.

CALIFORNIA: Up and down California, SEIU members joined with other activists to take the "Big Insurance: Sick of It" message to the offices of Wellpoint Blue Cross in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento. And in Santa Ana, United Healthcare got the same message. Over 700 participated in the actions including 265 SEIU members from locals in every division of the union.

This Saturday, Ed Perlmutter will be talking to folks at a local grocery store, taking your questions and listening to your concerns.

As you know by now, the enemies of reform have come out in force. Across the country, they've acted in a manner befitting an unruly mob, unwilling to listen to either reason or rhyme, driven mad by their desire to shut down debate:

We need to respond. In your hands, more than others, lies the fate of health care reform. Only you can make a difference, in this time and at this place. Will you stand with Ed Perlmutter on Saturday, and tell him Colorado, and our country, must have health care reform now?

You can RSVP here.

When you come back from the townhall, be sure to tell us what happened, and to share any pictures or video you may have taken here.

The time is now. Our broken health care system will not be fixed unless you stand up and speak out. Congress is in recess in order to listen to you. Ed Perlmutter is looking to you for the courage and steadfastness to stand strong and make the change Colorado and our country needs. Now, more than ever, we need to remind Ed Perlmutter that Colorado cannot afford to wait.

Come to his townhall; show up early. Wave signs, wear t-shirts & buttons. Most of all, tell your stories. Standing together, we will drown out the enemies of reform. We will send a message that, for the general welfare of America, health care reform must happen this year.

Again, you can RSVP here, to stand with Ed.

Be sure to share your story of the townhall, and any video or pictures you may have taken, here.

For the last few weeks, I've been asking what you're doing for health care reform. I've also been spotlighting the stories that you've shared, through video and text, and asking you, at various events, to engage with your Senators.

Mark Udall is now doing the same thing. Will you take a moment and share your story with him?

While you're at it, take time to share your story with us, and sign on in support of quality, affordable health care for all.

video taken & edited by Kyle Todd

On July 2nd, activists in Colorado Springs rallied in support of quality, affordable health care for all Coloradans. Watch the video above to see their stories. Once you've finished, you can sign up here to share your story.

On July 2nd, people in Denver rallied to demand quality, affordable health care for all. Watch as speakers tell their stories. You can follow and learn more here, and sign up to tell us your stories here and support health care reform.

Mike Maday visited the CO congressional delegation with the Change that Works Colorado group to discuss why he thinks we need health care reform now. Watch the video above to see what kind of reception he received, and sign up here to show your support for a public option.

I've been asking, over the last couple of weeks, what people are doing about health care reform. Tonight, I attended a house meeting hosted by a nurse, Mike Kingsbury, in his home in Denver.

I've gotten to know Mike fairly well - he's one of SEIU's grassroots lobbyists. Before he was a lobbyist, though, he was a trauma nurse. In that capacity, he's seen some of the worst casualties anyone working in a hospital can see. It was in that capacity, too, that he realized the need for health care reform.

"I started with 4 patients; soon, 4 became 6, 6 became 8 - and I found that I had no time to give them the care they needed. I told my supervisor about my concerns, but all she said was that I needed to do a better job."

I heard stories from some of the other people in the room - but I was drawn to a woman sitting quietly in the corner. When the group broke to write letters to their senators, I followed her and asked her if I could talk to her.

Jenny spoke softly.

"I've been friends with Mike for a long time. I'm a graphic designer, and I've been self-employed for a little while," she said. "I've had health insurance for most of my life, but because I'm an self-employed businesswoman, I've had to depend on my husband's health coverage. Recently, though, he was laid off. We've had to depend on COBRA because of that - turns out that paying a third of the COBRA costs is cheaper than paying for private health insurance. The fact that the Administration has to subsidize COBRA [because of the current economy] is unfortunate. I think that everyone should have basic health insurance, and that's why I'm here tonight."

That's what Jenny is doing about health care reform - what are you doing? If you want to know more and do more, sign up at our Facebook page, and keep following along at our state page.

Finally, tonight, join health care activists across America in a conversation about health care with Sen. Chris Dodd at 6 PM ET / 4 PM MT. If you want to know more about where legislation and health care reform are headed in Congress, this is the call to be on.

Colorado State Legislators Sen. Linda Newell, Sen. Joe Isgar, and Rep. John Kefalas signed onto a letter along with 700 state legislator from every state, to the President, HHS Secretary Sebelius and leaders of Congress, asking them to support key ingredients for real health care reform. Today, a delegation of legislators from around the nation will be on Capitol Hill to meet with the White House and deliver the letter.

State legislators are at the forefront of good health care reform with states like Colorado looking for ways to implement health care reform through mechanisms like the 208 Commission.

From the letter:

Key priorities for reform are reflected in recent state initiatives and public opinion polls which show that Americans want more choices and options for quality health care. Americans recognize that the private sector alone has proven incapable of creating a high-quality, fair, and accountable health care system that works for all families. Therefore, a key priority for reform is the choice of a public health insurance plan that is available to businesses, individuals, and families.

These are elected officials who have been legislating on health care reform for years, and have a keen understanding of how burdensome our broken health care system is for state budgets and for people's pocketbooks.

Read the entire letter being delivered on the Progressive State Network's website.

"This isn't an either/or proposition between the interests of workers and the interests of shareholders. That's the old argument. The new argument is that the American economy is not and has never been a zero-sum game. When workers are prospering, they buy products that make businesses prosper." -- President Barack Obama, Jan. 30, 2009

Today, 225 Colorado businesses released a "directory" featuring businesses that support the Employee Free Choice Act.

"It's time our economy worked for everyone again," said Terri Monley, owner of Gate City Moving in Denver. "We have a fundamental economic problem: The middle class is disappearing in America. Congress needs to pass the Employee Free Choice Act because it is one of the most important steps we can take to strengthen our middle class and turn our economy around."

"As a business owner, I believe that workers should have the freedom to bargain with employees for good wages, health care and the opportunity to retire with dignity," said Diana Ortiz, owner of Colorado-based Ortiz Enterprises, LLC, and advisory committee member of Business Leaders for a Fair Economy, a national group of more than 1,000 businesses who have come together to support the Employee Free Choice Act. "Better wages mean that the whole community has more money to spend and to build our economy." Ortiz's business was recently named "Small Business of the Decade" by the Pueblo Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The facts speak for themselves: when workers can unite for a voice on the job, they make one-third more in wages and are 52 percent more likely to have health care. More people, with more money, invariably support small businesses. In this economic crisis, we have a duty to support entrepreneurs and start-up companies in building sustainable, long-term successful businesses, rather than being forced to compete against irresponsible companies in an unwinnable, low-wage race to the bottom.

Nearly 40 leading American economists, including Nobel Prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Kenneth Arrow, have issued a joint statement calling for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act as a critical step towards rebuilding our economy.

This weekend, inspired by Chris Dodd & the hardworking volunteers in Organizing for America, I set out to document what ideas people had for reforming health care in America.

If you weren't aware, Organizing for America held canvasses this weekend to encourage people to get fired up for the health care reform push coming this summer. There were canvass events all over the Denver area this weekend - and there are even more events taking place this week, all the way into next weekend.

After stopping by and checking out one of the canvasses (in Denver's Wash Park neighborhood), I headed over the Capitol Hill People's Fair. The fair's an annual event that's been held for over three decades.

While I was there, I took the opportunity to visit with people in the various booths and get their ideas on how to reform health care in America. Amanda's idea, told by her in the video above, is but one of many I collected this weekend. Others included:

• extending access to low-income, fully-employed individuals;
• making certain people in chronic health distress had access to regular health care; and
  
• equality of treatment, regardless of income

It's your turn. What's your idea for how to reform health care? What are you going to do? Leave a response in the comments section, and I'll feature some of them in my next post.

All eyes will be on health care in the next couple of weeks, as language is expected from the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Across the country SEIU members and Change that Works activists worked at a feverish pace to spotlight the value of reforming our broken healthcare system.

• In Nebraska, organizers earned coverage across the state from Lincoln to Grand Island with 24 stories in 24 hours.
  
• Change that Works teamed with Democracy for America this week to promote a public health insurance option. In the Buckeye State, Change that Works Iowa teamed with SEIU Local 199 and state Senator Joe Bolkcom to encourage Senator Charles Grassley to support a public health insurance option.
  
• Pennsylvanians for Healthcare released a video profile of an advocate for healthcare reform and encouraged residents to "share their story" with elected officials.
  
• Change that Works Montana attended Senator Max Baucus' "Listening Tour" across Montana and encouraged him to remain a strong advocate for a public health insurance option.
  
• In Ohio, SEIU 1199WKO members delivered a book of Healthcare Worker Stories to Representative Marcia Fudge.
  
• Change that Works Tennessee delivered over 500 petition signatures urging Representative Gordon to support a public health insurance option.
  
• Wednesday at First Unitarian Church in downtown Denver, Colorado, former Governor Howard Dean discussed the need for a public option with more than 350 town hall attendees. On Friday, Governor Dean co-hosted a town hall of nearly 100 participants in Wilmington, DE, with SEIU Change that Works.

Union members across the country earn significantly more than non- union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers' wages were on average 11.3 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, American workers that join a union will earn 11.3 percent more--or $2.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars--than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Latino Union Workers Earn More & Have Better Benefits.  The most recent data suggest that even after controlling for differences between union and non- union workers --including such factors as age and education level -- unionization substantially improves the pay and benefits received by Latino workers. After controlling for workers' characteristics, the union wage premium for all Latino workers is 17.6 percent or about $2.60 per hour. The union advantage for Latino workers is even larger with respect to health insurance and pension coverage. Unionized Latino workers were about 26 percentage points more likely to have health insurance and about 27 percentage points more likely to have a pension than their non-union counterparts. [CEPR Report: Unions and Upward Mobility for Latino Workers, 9/08]

The NLRB Ruled Against a Fort Collins based dry-wall firm specifically on accusations it interfered with union organizing by Latino workers.  In 2000, the Denver Post reported, "Phase 2, a Fort Collins-based drywall and steel stud framing contractor has had an ongoing battle with the Rocky Mountain Regional Council of Carpenters over the firm's treatment of its Latino immigrant workers. Recently, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Phase 2 had interfered with workers attempting to join the union. The company was ordered to post information about the union on several job sites." [Denver Post, 12/3/00]

• Unionized Denver drywall workers earn an average of  $4.25 per hour than non-unionized drywall workers.  The Orlando Sentinel reported, "A seasoned union drywall worker in Denver earns $17.25 an hour, and receives benefits worth an additional $5 an hour, union leaders say. Nonunion drywall workers are typically paid as little as $13 an hour, and receive no benefits." [Orlando Sentinel, 1/22/06]

Higher Wages & Benefits Help U.S. Economy by Giving Workers the Ability to Purchase More Goods & Services: According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund report, unionization is good for the economy overall and "putting more money in workers' pockets would provide a needed boost for the U.S. economy." Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stated that higher wages and higher benefits would give workers the purchasing power they need to buy more of the goods and services that this economy produces. [CAP Report: Unions are Good for the American Economy, 2/18/09]

Workers at Laradon Hall Waited 18 Months for Their First Contract and Faced Continuous Intimidation. Roberta Ayala, a teacher's assistant a Laradon Hall in Denver, described how hard it was for she and her coworkers to get their first contract after voting to join a union. She wrote, "Eighty percent of us signed cards supporting the union. But the school refused to recognize our decision. We filed for an election and that's when management began harassing and intimidating us. They even fired several teachers' assistants--making our staffing problems even worse. They wanted to scare us. They wanted us to give up. But it didn't work--we won our election... Management continued their intimidation tactics even after we won our election. The facility experienced a 70 percent turnover in staff because of the campaign waged by management... Eighteen months after our election, we finally won our first contract. We finally won a voice in classroom decisions. But it shouldn't have been this hard to win improvements for our students." [SEIU, "Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act," accessed 5/19/09]

It Took Over a Year for DIA Train Workers to Get Their First Contract After Joining a Union. In 2000, the Denver Post reported, "The company that operates and maintains Denver International Airport's train system and a union that represents 40 of the firm's workers reached a contract settlement late Thursday afternoon, averting a threatened midnight strike. Workers represented by the International Union of Elevator Constructors were seeking their first contract with the train firm, Adtranz, after 13 months of bargaining. The new labor pact contains wage and benefit increases for the Adtranz workers, said Dale Coalmer, business manager for elevator constructors union Local 25." [Denver Post, 2/18/00]

Management of Exempla St. Joseph Hospital Delayed First Contract with Nurses For 18 Months, Waiting for the Workers to Give Up. In 2002, the Denver Business Journal reported, "Emergency department workers at Saint Joseph Hospital are cutting union ties after failing to reach a contract with the department's management. Eighteen months ago, about 60 workers at Exempla Healthcare's Saint Joseph Hospital became the first health care employees to unionize in Colorado in more than 20 years. The small group, however, couldn't strike a deal with Saint Joseph's outside emergency room management company, Maricor. 'We never should have organized a subcontractor of a hospital. ... They are not going to let the tail of the dog wag the dog,' said Ernest L. Duran Jr., president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, the union that represents the hospital workers. 'We didn't have the power. People think the negotiating process is this sophisticated, intellectual process. It's not. It's all about power.'" [Denver Business Journal, 2/22/02]

When Nurses at St. Anthony's Were Organizing a Union Vote, Management Brought in Outside Anti-Union Consultant to Scare Them Off. In 2003, the Denver Westword reported, "Three years ago the SEIU was involved in an effort to unionize nurses at St. Anthony's two area hospitals. St. Anthony hired Kansas City-based Management Science Associates, a firm that specializes in battling union drives in the health-care industry, and soon the nurses were deluged with anti-union propaganda and forced to attend meetings warning them about the dangers of forming a union. 'The only reason we were trying to organize was to have a voice,' says Bernie Patterson, a St. Anthony nurse who was active in the union drive. 'Our Catholic, non-profit hospital hired a consulting firm and spent millions to fight us. It was really ugly.' Patterson's group eventually had to withdraw its petition for an election because many of the nurses who originally supported the union were frightened away. 'Even the nurses who believed we needed a voice were losing their confidence,' she says." [Denver Westword, 6/12/03]

This week & next, Coloradans will be gathering in order to show that caring for the Earth and for good jobs goes hand in hand.

On Wednesday, folks from the Sierra Club & Colorado's Change that Works campaign gathered at the Cherry Creek Trail to talk about how Colorado is leading the green economy and we need to have qualified, trained employees to do those jobs--but we can only meet those needs by ensuring we provide good, green jobs, with fair wages.

They then presented staffers from both Senator Udall's office & Senator Bennet's office with materials showing that good jobs and green jobs are mutually compatible.

Next week, Coloradans will gather again for the same cause in Colorado Springs. Join us! You can find more information at www.changethatworks.net/CO.

Last Saturday, Sen. Michael Bennet met and spoke with nurses, security officers, janitors, and other union members from across Colorado at a townhall meeting about the Employee Free Choice Act and the immediate need for health care reform. It was the largest community group Sen. Bennet had spoken to since being appointed as Senator. Colorado workers gathered at the Denver headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to hear new Colorado Senator Michael Bennet talk about the prospects for health care reform and the Employee Free Choice Act.

Senator Bennet heard from many of the people who've made this state great, and responded to their concerns in the video above.

The conversation was frank. Workers came away from talking with the senator knowing that, despite the fact that he hasn't taken a position on the Employee Free Choice Act, he was committed to the basic principles underlying the act, and that when it came to health care reform, every man, woman, and child should have affordable health care.

Despite the good exchange of views, the job is not yet finished. You can join our campaign to make rebuild an economy that works for everyone here, and you can invite your friends here.

Please take a moment to write Sen. Bennet and tell him to stand up for hard-working Coloradans like us.

This past week, the Employee Free Choice Act came home to Colorado in a way that hadn't been seen before: with a traveling billboard featuring two people whose lives would have been better had the act been in place.

Dan Luevano was an electrician, working hard to support his family. Roberta Ayala taught art and supported non-verbal autistic children at a private school in Denver.

I didn't have a chance to talk to Roberta; I did spend a few minutes talking with Dan, asking him how he came to be one of the faces of the employee free choice movement.