As the health care reform debate heats up, doctors are joining the fight on behalf of their patients. Monday, doctors' groups representing more than 500,000 physicians nationwide, including the SEIU Healthcare's Committee of Interns and Residents, Doctors Council and National Doctors Alliance, convened in Washington, DC to announce their new ad campaign.

In an unprecedented joint endeavor, representatives from a variety of prominent doctors' groups came together to create an ad that will run in the print and online editions of Roll Call this week. This ad is just another way in which SEIU doctors have voiced their strong support for health care reform.

"Doctors have a real stake in this effort," said Dr. L. Toni Lewis, President of the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare. "We have put off reform in the past, only to see even more patients unable to afford the care we prescribe, even more of our judgments overruled by insurance companies, and even fewer investments in primary care, prevention, health IT, and developing the physician workforce of tomorrow. Now is the time for dramatic change to improve the welfare of our communities and the financial health of our hospitals."

In addition to the SEIU groups mentioned above, the ad also features endorsements by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the American Medical Student Association, the American Osteopathic Association, Doctors for America, the National Medical Association and the National Physicians Alliance.

In the debate over health care reform, those on the frontlines of this crisis - namely, our nation's nurses - provide valuable insight. President Obama, who remarked this year at a townhall, "I just love nurses," has publicly addressed the importance of RNs as frontline caregivers, noting that in some rural areas, nurses are a community's only provider of health care. He's also pointed out that it's often nurses, not doctors, who make critical health care decisions for patients.

So when a registered nurse of 25 years - SEIU 1991 President Martha Baker, RN - recently pens an op-ed in the Miami Heraldon fixing our health care system, it's worth considering as part of our national debate. Says Baker:

Our system -- which brings the uninsured to our emergency-room doors at the point when they must receive the most expensive form of care at the most advanced stages of illness -- is broken. Our patients who can pay end up paying more than they can afford because an easily treatable condition has escalated to a crisis. More than the financial care, the suffering of patients and the risk of mortality or permanent disability increases when chronic conditions are allowed to develop untreated....

Today's health system, which leaves more than 47 million Americans -- more than 600,000 of them in South Florida -- with no healthcare coverage at all, drastically distorts the entire system and adds enormously to the cost of healthcare for everyone else. As the costs in the system rise, more people are pushed into the ranks of the uninsured, which forces them to go without the primary care that in most cases would keep them healthy.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to be covered by insurance plans still know they can be expensive, complicated and loaded with trap doors. A recent report by the American Medical Association has documented that fully 60 percent of Americans who declare bankruptcy are forced to do so by healthcare costs. A public health-insurance plan is necessary to ensure adequate coverage, foster choice and competition and bring down costs.

Fortunately there is a way out of this vicious cycle. With a healthcare-reform package that ensures affordable coverage, includes a strong public health-insurance option and requires employers to share in the responsibility of covering workers, we can avoid an even more disastrous future.

Now is the time to get healthcare reform right and actually produce workable choices for all, including a public health-insurance option.

As a registered nurse, Baker speaks directly from personal experience, and bears witness to the challenges Floridians encounter with our health care system every day. As a union leader, she understands the financial burdens inflicted on working Floridians by an inefficient, badly broken system.

As the battle for health care reform comes down to the wire doctors and nurses represent an invaluable voice in this debate. And with this week's endorsement of the health care reform bills before Congress by the American Medical Association, it's clear that nurses and doctor's alike agree that we cannot afford to wait.

In his 50 minute address to the American Medical Association today at the group's annual convention in Chicago, President Obama reiterated his strong support for a truly national public health insurance plan, calling the current state of the nation's health care system a "ticking time bomb." Obama declared health care reform an urgent priority, saying "If we fail to act, premiums will climb higher, benefits will erode further, and the rolls of uninsured will swell to include millions more Americans."

As President Obama made his case for a health care system overhaul, he touched on several ways to cut costs we had yet to hear him address within a single public speech: he promoted preventative care instead of disease management and advocated for health IT (specifically, switching from paper to electronic health records). He urged examining inefficiencies in the Medicare program and introducing competitive bidding into the Medicare Advantage program, as well as exchanging doctors' current fee-for-service based pay system for a more outcomes-based system.

Prior to President Obama's AMA address today, doctors and physicians-in-training put out a statement in support of the creation of a public health insurance option signed by eight organizations: CIR/SEIU Healthcare, the Doctors Council, AAFP, AMSA, Doctors for America, NPA and SNMA. The groups--whose members combined represent 215,000 physicians and physicians-in-training--also hosted a conference call with key reporters to express their support for President Obama's goals for healthcare reform. "We believe we need a truly robust, quality public health insurance option," said Dr. L. Toni Lewis, President of CIR/SEIU Healthcare (CIR). "Quality is something I really want to stress here, meaning: our patients would have a public option that provides them with the care they need."

"The thousands of devastating stories of Americans unable to get care can make it feel impossible to practice medicine some days," says NPA President Dr. Valerie Arkoosh. "But these stories also serve to remind us every day of our ethical duties to put our patients' care ahead of insurance companies. Competition provides us with choice and makes our market better--and a strong, national health insurance option would do the same."

"I need your help, doctors"
President Obama told attendees of the AMA conference today that no reform effort could be successful without the buy-in of the nation's doctors, declaring at one point, "The public option is not your enemy, it is your friend." The President also labeled those who call his plan "socialized medicine" naysayers and fear mongers, reassuring his audience that those who claim he is trying to bring about government-run health care are "not telling the truth."

Dr. Nikhil Wagle, cofounder of Doctors of America, says the number one priority for doctors in fixing our broken healthcare system is doing what's best for patients--and this includes the choice to keep the insurance they have or sign up for a robust, public healthcare option. "As doctors, we see the effect of our broken healthcare system and what happens when our patients are denied the care they need," said Dr. Wagle. "It's the real experience with doctors and patients that must be what guides us in this effort towards healthcare reform."

"To say it as plainly as I can, health care reform is the single most important thing we can do for America's long-term fiscal health. That is a fact," said President Obama. Read the transcript of his entire speech here.

Other notable parts of Obama's June 15 speech to the AMA after the break.

Yesterday, workers at Boston's Caritas Carney Hospital, part of Caritas Christi Health Care and the largest community-based hospital system in Massachusetts, voted overwhelmingly to join 1199SEIU. This election comes on the heels of an April vote in which more than 800 healthcare workers at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston also voted to unite together with thousands of healthcare workers in 1199SEIU.

The successful vote was hailed by community leaders as a win not just for caregivers, but also for patients and the community. "Carney is so much more than just a community hospital - it's a real part of the community," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in a statement. "Generations of Dorchester families have turned to Carney for quality care, good jobs and a ray of hope...Why can't every hospital in the city of Boston have 1199?" (Our thoughts exactly!) Since 2006, 1199SEIU has more than tripled in size in Massachusetts.

1199SEIU's bargaining unit will represent respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, LPNs, nurse assistants, dietary and clerical workers, and housekeepers at the 159-bed hospital. Read more about the election at the Boston Herald, Boston Globe, and CNBC.

This week, hundreds of RNs flooded our nation's capitol, many of us with several decades of experience in patient care. We left our families and communities because this year - 2009 - is the year that Congress can finally fix our broken health care system. And it can't happen without nurses.

On Wednesday, I joined with hundreds of nurses to lobby members of Congress about the issues we face at the bedside. As nurses, we're able to speak to issues the general public doesn't know about--understaffing, mandatory overtime, nurse training and education and more.

The National RN Day Of Action on May 13th turned out to be an incredible display of unity for all nurses and the patients we care for. While we were on the hill, we heard from staffers who'd received calls into their offices from nurses the following week. (See SEIU Blog post, "On National Nurses Week, We're Calling a Code On Our Healthcare System")

Thanks to your calls, Congress knew that nurses had an important role to play in health care reform. It was history in the making and I'm so excited that I had the chance to be a part of it!

Below are photos taken of the event: www.flickr.com/photos/valuecarenurses/

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Janelle Manigault is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at St. Petersburg General Hospital (HCA) and a Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Florida's Health Systems Division.

I'm getting a little tired of National Nurses Day being treated like another Hallmark holiday.

I know I'm not alone; I've been talking to the RNs in my hospital about this. So, we've decided today isn't going to be like any Nurses Day before it. This year, you can keep your flowers and candy. This year, RNs are demanding something real. We're calling a code on our broken health care system.

Click here to help us take back National Nurses Day: www.seiu.org/RNs2congress

One member of Congress, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has always gotten how important nurses are to fixing health care. And she's asking RNs to make sure her colleagues get it, too:

"You are on the frontline of our failing medical system, so you know where we can cut waste, how we can eliminate bureaucracies, and what it will take to improve care.

Nurses are the most trusted messengers in this upcoming debate, and your voices are critical in shaping reform and ensuring its passage."

Will you help me call a code on health care? Dial toll-free 1-866-210-3678 to be connected to your Senators' offices. Click here to learn more: www.seiu.org/RNs2congress

I decided long ago it's not only my responsibility, but also my duty - to my patients and my fellow nurses - to stand up and lead in the fight for quality, affordable health care.

I hope you share that same sense of duty. If you do join me in calling a code today. Call 1-866-210-3678 to connect with your member of Congress. While you're on the call, click here to see a sample script and a report-back form on our website.

Thanks for speaking out for your patients,

Cathy Glasson, RN
Value Care, Value Nurses

P.S. If you're looking for a little inspiration, check out this video of Linda Bock at the White House. It's moments like these that National Nurses Day are all about.

One of the founding principles at prominent teaching hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston has been the quest to "treat patients compassionately" -- a commitment that caregivers have devoted their lives to fulfilling. Unfortunately, hospital administrators at BIDMC haven't always shared the same commitment to compassion, or to the "transparency and honesty" so often touted in glowing press releases and glossy pictures provided to the media.

Mounting evidence that BIDMC's current administration is running the institution as a business above all else spurred SEIU1199 and the Area Trades Council to launch EyeOnBI.org in October 2008, a public information campaign designed to call upon BIDMC to reject their increasingly corporate style of medicine and return to its noble mission of putting first the needs of its patients, its workers, and Greater Boston communities.

One such example is the stunning case of Michael Hicks--a case covered extensively and featured on the front page of the Sunday Edition of the Boston Herald in a report called "Medical Outrage: Special Investigation," which describes how BIDMC "utterly failed" Mr. Hicks during and after his procedure last summer.

Patients, Caregivers, Hospitals, Neighborhood Advocates, Unions Unite in Asking Gov. Patrick to Put Patients First; Use Federal Relief Funds to Restore Care at "Safety-Net" Hospitals

BOSTON - On Thursday, January 29 at 4:00 p.m., a broad and rapidly growing coalition of health groups known as the Put Patients First coalition will rally hundreds of patients, caregivers, and advocates outside the Massachusetts State House. The rally is expected to be the largest demonstration on a public health policy issue since health reform legislation passed and since Governor Deval Patrick took office in November 2006.

The groups are asking Governor Patrick to restore patient services that were recently eliminated in a series of drastic funding cuts to Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance.

The advocates say the Governor should use anticipated federal relief money to restore services at the two health networks which serve a disproportionate number of uninsured and under-insured patients. The recent "safety-net" health care funding cuts by Governor Patrick exceeded the cuts called for under Chapter 58, the law governing Massachusetts health care reform, and could financially devastate care delivery and patient services at the hospitals and clinics that low-income and minority neighborhoods depend upon the most.

WHO: Hundreds of health workers, patients, community members, and advocates united in the Put Patients First coalition.

WHEN: Thursday, January 29, 2009, 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Boston Common in front of the Massachusetts State House

WHY / MORE INFORMATION: A growing number of community organizations are asking the Patrick administration to ensure anticipated federal relief funding is directed to restoring the vital services that Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance provide to low-income and minority residents.

The Put Patients First coalition has expanded rapidly in short time to unite a broad range of Massachusetts health, grassroots, and community advocacy organizations, in addition to the threatened safety-net hospitals. Other organizations who have joined include 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, Health Care for All, ACORN, Neighbor to Neighbor, and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, among dozens of others (see full list of coalition members below).

Based on recent reports from the House Committee on Appropriations, it is expected that an upcoming federal stimulus package could include upwards of $87 billion in aid to states intended specifically to increase, through the end of FY 2010, the share of Medicaid costs for which the federal government reimburses states, and provide other forms of relief for health care delivery. A similar approach was used in previous recessions to prevent or restore cuts to health services to meet the increasing demands at times when state revenues were declining.

Members of the Put Patients First coalition have raised concerns that the Patrick administration may divert all or part of the funds designated for Medicaid relief to other non-Medicaid purposes. The Governor was reported to have said in late December that the federal Medicaid relief could be, "displaced for other needs."
Put Patients First coalition members have pointed out that such a diversion of funds would be devastating for low-income patient services at a time when the nation is looking towards Massachusetts for leadership on health reform.

Put Patients First is a coalition of over forty-five community and health organizations advocating for protection of patient access and services at community safety-net hospitals. Members of the coalition include 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, ACORN, Aids Action Committee of Massachusetts, American Stroke Association, Artists Foundation, Boston Center for Independent Living, Boston HealthNet, Codman Square Health Center, Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU, Community Labor United, Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Ethos, Geiger Gibson Community Health Center, Greater Boston Labor Council, Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center, Harbor Health Services, Health Law Advocates, Healthcare for All, Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health, Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, Jobs With Justice, Joint Committee for Children's Health Care in Everett, MA League of Community Health Ctrs, Manet Community Health Center, Mass Association of Community Health Workers, Mass Health Council, Mass Law Reform Institute, Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Massachusetts Senior Action Council, Mattapan Community Health Center, MIRA, National Association of Social Workers, Neighbor to Neighbor, Neponset Health Center, Partners Healthcare, Project Right, Public Policy Institute, Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center, SEIU 509, SEIU 615, Somerville/Cambridge Elder Services, South Boston Community Health Center, South End Community Health Center, Tri-City Community Action Program, Inc., and the Whittier Street Health Center.

Multi-Million Dollar Television Ad Buy Unveiled Today Promotes Health Care Reform as a Top Domestic Priority for the Next President and the New Congress

Washington, D.C. - Six organizations representing consumers, physicians, insurers, patients and pharmaceutical research companies are banding together to launch a new multi-million dollar national television advertising buy. Their common message: In order to fix the ailing economy, the nation needs health care reform that addresses the related problems of health care costs and people losing health coverage.

The groups are the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Medical Association (AMA), Families USA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Regence BlueCross BlueShield, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The ad will air at least until Feb. 5 and focuses visually on the nation's manufacturing sector, but the organizations all agree that every sector of the economy will benefit from health care reform. The ad opens with: "At a time when American businesses are hurting, why should we worry about fixing health care? Because quality, affordable health care can save money and make businesses more competitive."

"Cancer patients across the country--including those with insurance--often must dig deep into their savings and risk financial ruin to pay for cancer treatment and care," said John R. Seffrin, Ph. D., Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN. "Elected officials should recognize what American families already know--that fixing the economy requires that we fix the broken health care system."

"Healing our health care system is a key component to jumpstarting our national economy. As our new ad makes clear--quality, affordable health care is good for families and it's good for businesses," said AMA President Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D.

"While businesses and families cope with unaffordable health care costs, many workers are losing their jobs and health coverage," said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. "As a result, it's clear that America's economic difficulties require meaningful health care reform. It's this message that animates our ad campaign."

"Expanding access to quality and affordable health insurance is good for patients and good for our economy," Billy Tauzin, President and CEO of PhRMA, said today. "Improved access means we can do more to promote prevention and more to detect and treat conditions at an early stage, when we can do the most to avoid poor health outcomes and costly complications of chronic diseases, which account for seven out of every ten deaths in America."

"Given the nation's economic and health care crises, now is the time to bring meaningful, lasting change to our health care system," said Mark Ganz, President and CEO of Regence. "We urge President-elect Obama and Congressional leaders to bring together stakeholders who are willing to discard outdated concepts and collaborate on practical solutions."

"As the economy sputters, the need to fix healthcare is becoming more and more urgent. The clock is ticking," said Andy Stern, President of SEIU, the nation's largest union of healthcare workers. "It will take all of us--individuals, corporate leaders, healthcare providers and the government--working together to solve America's healthcare crisis."

The ad was unveiled today by all the sponsoring organizations at a news conference in Washington, D.C.

About the sponsors:

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

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The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional and public health issues. Working together, the AMA's quarter of a million physician and medical student members are playing an active role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org.

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Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Working at the national, state, and community levels, we have earned a national reputation as an effective voice for health care consumers for 25 years. For more information, visit www.familiesusa.org

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With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.

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Regence BlueCross BlueShield is a leading health insurer in the Northwest/Mountain State Region, offering health, life and dental insurance. Regence serves nearly three million members as Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueShield (selected counties in Washington), Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield of Idaho. Each plan is a not-for-profit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Regence is committed to improving the health of our members and our communities, and to transforming our health care system. For more information, please visit regence.com.

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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $44.5 billion in 2007 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $58.8 billion in 2007.

Physicians Seek to Save Their Programs, Hospital from Closure

Last week, interns and residents at Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn, NY unanimously voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) of SEIU Healthcare, coming together to have a voice at their hospital and on behalf of their patients.

Despite being a well-regarded and essential community hospital, the Manhattan-based management of Brooklyn's Long Island College Hospital (LICH) is in the process of planning to close down multiple programs and sell off some of the hospital's buildings:

"I was part of a CIR union chapter in Miami, and it definitely makes a difference," said Dr. Lilliam Villafredez, a resident in Internal Medicine. "It's our right as residents to have a voice."

CIR will continue to work with and win union representation for the remaining 90 residents, who are paid by LICH but work at other hospitals. Resident physicians at LICH, together with CIR will continue to work with the community to ensure that vital programs like maternity and pediatric care remain open.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEIU Healthcare Chair Dennis Rivera issued the following statement today regarding the 2008 Colorado Health Care Summit:

"The more than 2 million working families of SEIU commend Former Senator Tom Daschle and the Obama healthcare transition team for their commitment to fixing health care--and we look forward to doing our part to promote this vital effort across the country.

"Senator Daschle's announcement today confirming the commitment of the new administration to address the healthcare crisis in America is great news for patients, caregivers, and employers alike. Senator Daschle has long been a champion for working families, and his announcement today is a tribute to his proven record of standing up for improvements to the healthcare system.

"More broadly, the recognition by Senator Daschle and the Obama team that rising healthcare costs are putting pressure on families and on businesses offers hope the mounting crisis will be addressed early in the next administration to help get our economy back on track. Clearly, any solution must expand coverage, reduce costs, and improve quality--the very priorities spelled out by Senator Daschle in Denver today.

"Today, SEIU's working families applaud Senator Daschle for his ongoing innovation, his steadfast commitment to fix the healthcare system, and his bold proposals for engaging Americans in the solutions. The fact that the Obama team is proposing some of the same tools that worked so well during the presidential election to ensure the voices of ordinary American families are part of the debate--including soliciting ideas by Internet and at house parties--demonstrates their commitment to addressing the problems on Main Street in a real way. SEIU healthcare workers plan to attend these house parties so we can share what we hear every day: working Americans need quality, affordable coverage they can count on.

"It is both fitting and telling that Senator Daschle's announcement should come from an event in Colorado, where Senator Ken Salazar has also shown great leadership in the movement to reform the healthcare system. With the Partnership for a Healthy Colorado citing each Colorado family will spend more than $934 to care for the uninsured by the end of 2008 and Families USA showing premiums for the average family have risen 82 percent in the last six years alone, Colorado exemplifies the severity of the situation nationwide. Senator Salazar has consistently shown he recognizes Coloradoans--and Americans overall--can't wait any longer to hear solutions to the healthcare crisis.

"SEIU members--more than one million of whom went to work today in hospitals, nursing homes, and as home care providers--are committed to work together with Senators Daschle, Salazar and other elected and business leaders to rebuild the healthcare system and the economy so they work for working people again."