For five decades, Senator Kennedy stood with working families to fight for our shared vision of America where every family has access to affordable healthcare, every worker has a paycheck that supports a family, and every child is guaranteed a brighter future. He spent his entire adult life, through tragedy and triumph, in pursuit of this America. From his first major speech in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to his last vote on President Obama's economic recovery plan, his vision of a more perfect nation never wavered.

From SEIU President Andy Stern:

Senator Kennedy stood with SEIU members on countless picket lines and contract negotiations. He stood with millions of hardworking immigrants and SEIU members to call for comprehensive immigration reform in 2005. He stood with workers fighting for a voice on the job by championing the Employee Free Choice Act. And until his final days he stood with SEIU healthcare workers and other workers to win access to affordable healthcare for all Americans.

Thirty-nine years ago, Senator Kennedy introduced his first bill to overhaul our nation's broken healthcare system and provide affordable coverage to all Americans. "Sen. Kennedy dreamed of a nation of progress where justice, fairness and opportunity for all laid at the heart," said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. "The most fitting tribute to honoring the life and legacy of this great statesman is for Congress to pass quality affordable health care for all this year."

"We stand closer now than ever before to achieving what Senator Kennedy called the cause of his life," said Stern. "Let us continue his cause...And let us continue to make Kennedy's vision for America a reality."

In the wake of Senator Kennedy's passing last night after a long battle with brain cancer, our deepest condolences and prayers go out to Senator's Kennedy's wife Vicki, his children and the rest of the Kennedy family. He will be missed.

Visit our tribute page honoring Ted Kennedy here. Sign an online card for Senator Kennedy's family here.

Last week, elected officials left Springfield without doing their job--again. So SEIU Healthcare Illinoismembers took their fight to protect home and childcare workers from budget cuts to the scene of the crime. Protesting in the statehouse, members demanded an end to budget cuts that would devastate home care, child care and countless other human service programs in Illinois. Governor Quinn agreed and vetoed the bill.

Recently, healthcare activists gathered at Rep. Kirk's campaign kickoff for his Senate bid--to fill the seat that was previously held by President Obama--to demand he support measures that will bring quality, affordable healthcare.

But it seems as though Rep. Kirk isn't trying nearly hard enough to emulate the former holder of the Senate seat he's bidding for, when it comes to stepping up the plate to tackle the biggest challenge facing our country: making sure every American has access to high quality, affordable health care. After the Monday event announcing his candidacy, Rep. Kirk told one of the activists, "We can't afford to insure everyone."

According to a report by HCAN, from 2000 to 2007, health insurance premiums for working Illinois families has risen by 73 percent. So the real question is, how can we afford not to support fixing America's broken healthcare system? SEIU members will continue pressuring their legislators to pass measures that put quality care in reach for everyone. Stay tuned for more information on how you can help.

The Center for Tax Justice has released a report called "Progressive Revenue Options to Fund Health Care Reform," which SEIU and Health Care for America Now are supporting. The report describes progressive revenue options to pay for healthcare reform and the amount of revenue they are likely to raise.

Everyone--individuals, businesses, government--should the burden of healthcare costs in the effort to reform our system, without resorting to measures such as taxing employer-based health benefits. The proposals described in the report would accomplish three objectives:

1. raise the revenue necessary to implement meaningful reform,
   
2. simplify the tax code, and
   
3. ensure a continued progressive structure of the federal income tax.

"The revenue options presented by Citizens for Tax Justice do not upend the current process for employees to receive healthcare from their employer like other proposals floating around Washington. These options prove it's possible to guarantee access to quality, affordable healthcare for everyone and to do it without creating an extra burden on taxpayers or our economy," said Bruce Colburn, Campaign Manager for SEIU Healthcare. Download the report here  

The Healthcare Education Project (HEP), a joint initiative of 1199SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) has begun airing two new television ads urging Governor David Paterson to use a portion of the nearly $11 billion in Medicaid funding New York State will receive under the federal economic stimulus package to avoid massive health care cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home care.

The new ad, which praises President Obama for recognizing states' dire need for fiscal relief, is part of HEP's ongoing campaign to educate New Yorkers about the hugely destructive effect Governor Paterson's proposed $3.5 billion in health care cuts--including $2 billion in cuts to hospitals, nursing homes, and home health--would have on patients and communities across New York.

The Speaker of the House has released a report outlining the key points of the compromise the House and Senate have reached on the Economic Recovery Act. There's lots of good news for health care.

Here are the highlights:

The Economic Recovery Act is expected to go up for a final vote by the end
of this week.

Agreement Hailed as Model of Employer/Employee Agreements that Support American Workers, Enhance Quality Services to Working Families, and Help Rebuild Stronger Economy

CHICAGO -- Labor leaders and home care aides joined Service Employee International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern and Mark Heaney, CEO of Addus HealthCare, Inc. today to sign a renewed national agreement that will further improve home care for seniors and people with disabilities. The new contract now covers 10,000 Addus HealthCare, Inc. workers in 11 states -- California, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Montana, Delaware and Washington. SEIU IS the largest health care union in the country representing more than 1.1 million members in the field, including 400,000 home care workers.

"This renewal is very important to me. Since we established the initial agreement, we have all seen positive results," said Alberta Walker, home care aide of nine years and a vice chair on the executive board of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana. "Thousands of home care workers have joined SEIU Healthcare as a result. We can lobby more diligently for better federal and state funding to improve the services for our consumers. We can retain and recruit the best home care aides in the industry with better wages and access to health care. And we can help Addus offer the kind of high-quality, in-home care that seniors want," said Walker.

The agreement expands the groundbreaking 2005 agreement between the two organizations which was the first national home care contract in SEIU history. That contract addressed non-economic issues and provided workers with the right to organize nationally, streamlined negotiations, and set higher standards for thousands of home care aides.

"I believe that if you want quality care, you need to make homecare work a quality job. That's why I'm here to applaud the cooperative relationship that has been established between SEIU and Addus," said Retha Landreth, a home care worker from Indiana. "I'm proud to say Addus has worked alongside our union to raise standards."

While the unemployment rate rises, the health care industry continues to thrive -- and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one of the fastest growing areas in the health care is home health aides. Unfortunately, home health aides are still some of the lowest paid workers. Last year a full-time home health aide made an average of $14,000.

Thirty-six percent of home health aides in this country are uninsured and forty-five percent live below the federal poverty level income.

"These are pretty desperate times for working Americans. Now is the time for businesses and workers to come together and stand up for real change," said SEIU International President Andy Stern. "Agreements like this give workers the freedom to join a union and everyone benefits - workers, employers, and most importantly, care consumers," Stern said. "With our economy in crisis, we're sending a message and standing up for real change that works."

Keith Kelleher, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, the largest healthcare union in the Midwest which represents 85,000 health care and child care workers, signed the agreement at the event with Addus Healthcare, Inc. CEO Mark Heaney. "The importance of both agreements is the spirit of cooperation between workers and the employer to do the things that promote quality care, raise the quality of life for home care workers," Kelleher said.

"You might not comprehend what this means to a home care aide, but it puts a pep in our step and allows more experienced and dedicated workers to continue to do what we love doing and stay healthy while we do it," Walker said.

SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana unites more than 85,000 health care, home care, nursing home and child care workers across two states in the fight to raise standards across industries, to strengthen the political voice for working families and for access to quality, affordable care for all families.

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.

WASHINGTON, DC -- "There is no time to waste. Strengthening the children's health insurance program offers a lifeline to families struggling to survive during this unprecedented economic downturn," said SEIU International Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger as Democrats and Republicans came together in the U.S. House of Representatives to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). "We urge the Senate to join their House colleagues so more hard-working families have the peace of mind that they do not have to choose between their children's health and paying their mortgage or putting food on the table. SCHIP passage provides both help for families on Main Street as well as a clear first step towards true American health care reform."

SEIU, the nation's largest union of health care workers, is helping its 2 million members and community leaders to contact their members of Congress to share stories from the frontlines of the nation's health care crisis and show the need for immediate action. More than 8 million American children don't have health insurance - children whose parents earn too much to qualify for state aid yet can't afford private insurance. SEIU is urging the new Congress to swiftly pass legislation that makes health care affordable for everyone - and reauthorizing State Children's Health Insurance Program is a key step toward that goal.

"SCHIP is the first step on a path that will make comprehensive health care reform a reality. The House of Representatives sent a signal today that the moment has arrived," Burger said. "Only by insuring the uninsured can we lower health care costs for everyone."

"The next step is clear, the Senate should move to ensure that Americans will no longer accept the moral crime of denying health coverage to children whose parents are legal immigrants," Burger said. "Eliminating the nonsensical provision that withholds SCHIP funding from low-income children and pregnant women who are legal residents during their first 5 years in the U.S. is the right thing to do. Health care is too important an issue and during this time of change in America now is the right time to do it."

We have a narrow window of opportunity to take a big step toward fixing health care. But it has to happen today.

Congress is getting ready to re-introduce a bill that would extend health insurance to more than 4 million children currently without coverage. It's the same bill that was supported by Democrats and Republicans in 2007, but vetoed by President Bush.

Will you call your members of Congress and urge them to support the reauthorization and strengthening of the children's health insurance program? Click here to get connected to your representative: www.seiu.org/kidshealth

SEIU launched a new TV ad buy today about the importance of healthcare reform in regaining the economic prosperity of this nation.

The ad focuses visually on the nation's manufacturing sector and 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."

Watch it now:

The multi-million dollar national television ad was unveiled by all the sponsoring organizations at a news conference in Washington, D.C. earlier today. It will air on cable news networks, network news shows and Sunday morning news shows at least until February 5.

Fixing our ailing economy sits at the top of everyone's agenda--and it's clear that meaningful health care reform is a crucial component to fixing America's economic crisis.Take action now and tell Congress to support of President-elect Obama's healthcare reform, economic recovery and long-term growth plan.

This week, the National Journal invited key health care advocates and experts to respond to the following question:

What early health care victories should President-elect Obama and Congress seek before Washington works on broad health care reform legislation?

My response is below:

As the economy sputters, fixing health care becomes more and more urgent. President-elect Obama has made clear that solving our health care crisis is crucial to repairing our economy. He's right. Let's get to work.

Any health care remedies need to be part of a comprehensive solution to bring down costs, make health care accessible to everyone, and improve quality. First up, working families need fast action to keep our broken health care system from backsliding further, including:

- Reauthorize SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Even with SCHIP, nearly 8 million children don't have health insurance - children whose parents make too much money to qualify and yet still can't afford coverage. As the economy slows, more parents risk losing their jobs and losing their health care - or having their hours cut and losing their health care. Certainly, at a minimum, Congress should quickly reauthorize a proven program with broad support that offers a lifeline to low-income families - even as we push forward with making sure millions more uninsured children enroll in good health care. Only by insuring the uninsured can we eliminate income and racial disparities in the incidence of chronic disease and bring down health costs overall.

- Increase FMAP, the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages program, so states can preserve crucial services. Again, now is not the time for backsliding. We need to shore up programs that work and build on them, or else the downturn will sink more families and communities already nearing the breaking point.

The reports are coming back from your health care meetings, and we couldn't be more impressed. From everything you've said, it looks like your meetings were substantive, full of ideas and expertise, and were a rousing success.

We thought we'd share a small sampling of the ideas that you've submitted to us from your group discussions.

In Nashville, TN, Jane Fleishman and her health care discussion group came away with many diagnoses and solutions for our nation's health care problems. Here's what she reported, in the form of five ideas (out of many submitted - thanks, Jane!):

"Lack of access to good food is a major problem impacting people's health. The system doesn't do a good job of focusing on health. There is a lack of emphasis on diet, exercise and other preventive methods. The system does not seem to have prevention and health as a goal. It seems to be about something else entirely."

"Obesity is epidemic, especially in the South. People who keep their weight down and do things like get regular exercise should be able to get lower insurance premiums or some other incentive for doing the right thing in taking care of themselves."

"Remove the stigma and lack of equity for mental health care. Also, seeking mental health treatment should not make a person uninsurable. Currently, it is very likely that a person will be denied insurance if they have used mental health services, even for problems that are situational (i.e., dealing with grief). "

"Incentives for health care practitioners should be improved (i.e., they get paid when they keep people well as opposed to when their patients get sick)."

"Institute home visiting programs for pregnant women so babies and families get off to a healthy start and we lower our shameful infant mortality rate. In particular, we need to deal with the racial disparity evident in infant mortality rates in the U.S.."

Out of the great state of Washington, this comes from our friend "Astarab":

"It's my observation from 35 years experience in nursing and preventative care that innovative complementary care both in nursing and medicine can save a lot of lives and money. Nurse practitioners is a profession that should be encouraged to grow as it gives excellent first line of care with more emphasis on education, counseling, and practical low cost methods of care."

And from Missouri come a few more ideas:

• Tuition assistance / grants to train healthcare staff (RN, LPN, CNA, Social Workers, etc.) and the education and salaries of the faculty of the training facilities that provide it. Pay for it through a combination of national, state, local and facility/hospital funding.
• Nationally compatible, user friendly, medical record keeping and charting software to allow for efficient and dependable medical record keeping.
• Increases in staffing of support personnel to aid nursing staff in the care of patients
• Encourage development of patient room design and equipment placement that emphasize hygiene, efficiency and ergonomics in the care of hospitalized patients.

If you've recently held your meeting and have yet to report back to us, please do so here: http://www.seiu.org/host.

Working Americans and health care consumers offer views & ideas on Obama health plan

Despite the busy holiday season, Americans throughout the country - from caregivers like nurses, doctors and pharmacists to ordinary health care consumers - have been gathering to hold their own health care meetings. You've brought your friends, your family, like-minded individuals, and even those who have different points of view together to share their ideas and input on health care reform that comes from the ground up.

News report after news report has been gracing our inboxes over the holiday season - from national papers like the New York Times to small, local papers from your areas.

Try this out - it's unbelievable:

1. Go to http://news.google.com. That's the Google News site.
2. Type in "obama health care discuss," and then click "search."
3. Voila! - that's right, there are that many articles that have been written about your health care discussions from around the country.

And it's not just the sheer volume of stories, it's what's contained within them. Each news story contains powerful anecdotes from meet-ups that include personal stories, concerns about the current health care system, and amazing recommendations and ideas on how to improve how we deliver care in this country.

We encourage you to read their reports in their own contexts. Because each and every meet-up has been a true discussion, picking and choosing small bits takes away from the power of reading them in their entirety - each is a portrait of our health care system.

Here are five highlights from the coverage:

1. New York Times: "At House Party on Health Care, the Diagnosis Is It's Broken"
2. San José Mercury News: "Citizens group answers Obama's call on health care"
3. Flint Journal (Michigan): "Health care reform topic of discussion at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Flint"
4. Norwalk News (Connecticut): "Group discusses U.S. health care"
5. The Herald-Mail (Maryland/West Virginia/Pennsylvania): "Group eyes big changes in health care"

We couldn't be more proud of the work that all of you are doing. You've taken the initiative, and this is the result. It's what real grassroots mobilization looks like. Keep it up!

(On a side note: We held our own health care meet-up here at SEIU a few weeks ago - read about the discussion and watch the video footage from the meet-up on SEIU's blog here).

Amidst retail sales reports, record snowfall and last minute shopping tips, no one expected "health care" to be gracing the headlines this week. But thanks to you and thousands like you, news outlets all across America -- from Chattanooga, Tennessee to St. George, Utah -- are buzzing with reports of your health care meet-ups.

Last week, SEIU staff convened a health care discussion of our own. Topics of conversation included "what's wrong with the current healthcare system?" and how policy can help address these problems. We decided to capture the meeting on video and wanted to share some highlights with you all. Watch here:

This is a busy time of year for all of us -- making it all the more impressive that thousands of Americans are hosting discussions in their homes and communities this week. Let's keep the momentum going right into the New Year. If you haven't yet attended or hosted a health care discussion, there's still time. Watch our video and sign-up today.

(You can view our hosting resource page, containing discussion guides and audio of our host conference call by clicking here.)

Otherwise, please use this form to report back to us on how your discussion went. And don't forget to submit your ideas for Inauguration Day!

According to the most recent estimates from the Census Bureau, 8.6 million children in the United States lacked health coverage in 2007. Last year, Congress debated and passed two pieces of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which would have reduced the number of uninsured children by almost half and expanded health coverage throughout the nation to as many as 4 million additional uninsured children. President Bush vetoed both bills.

According to Families USA, the vast majority of uninsured children come from families where at least one parent works (88.2 percent), and more than two-thirds of uninsured children--or 68.5 percent--live in households where at least one family member works full-time, year-round. And more than half of the nation's uninsured children come from low-income families with incomes below twice the poverty level, who are likely eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP.

So although the Bush Administration proclaimed it would "leave no child behind" when it comes to education, 8.6 million American children - a majority of whom are from working families - are being left behind because they lack health coverage. "The sad reality is that kids who don't have health insurance are far more likely to get sidetracked--right at the beginning of their lives--because their families can't afford quality care," said SEIU Healthcare chair Dennis Rivera.

During the current economic downturn as working families are struggling to make ends meet, no one should have to choose between health care for their kids and making a mortgage or rent payment. Hopefully, things will be looking up for the nation's uninsured children in the near future, as the new Administration and president-elect Barack Obama are widely expected to push for eligibility expansions for SCHIP, which is up for reauthorization anyway in the spring.

Rising Tide of Support for SCHIP

Two-thirds of the public (82 percent) supports SCHIP renewal and extending children's health benefits to legal immigrant children, according to a poll released yesterday by child advocacy group First Focus. Key poll results also show that 67 percent of respondents favored eliminating the five-year waiting period for legal immigrant children, while 19 percent were opposed. [SCHIP is not available to legal immigrants during their first five years in the country, with the exception of those living in states that use state funds to cover legal immigrants who qualify.]

Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) hailed the poll as evidence of the nation's broad, bipartisan support for renewal of the SCHIP program, which expires in March, 2009.

Senator Harry Reid at the announcement:

"The findings announced today confirmed what we knew over a year ago - Americans support providing children with health care coverage and they understand the importance of removing the five-year waiting period for coverage for legal immigrant children and pregnant women."

Senator Rockefeller:

"I look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the Congressional leadership to quickly reauthorize CHIP so that millions of uninsured children - including legal immigrant children - receive the health coverage they need."

Poll respondents favored expanding SCHIP by a margin of 79-15 to ensure that all children in America, including legal immigrant children, have health care coverage.

"In the debate of 2007, Republicans used the coverage of legal immigrant children against expanding the children's health insurance program," said First Focus spokesperson Christopher Spina to CQ yesterday. "We clearly now see a mandate among the American people."

More findings from the First Focus poll.

In addition to the nearly-250 SEIU discussions that have been scheduled, over 4,200 meetings have been scheduled nationwide.

From the New York Times:

"The Obama transition team has prepared discussion guides for people who participate in the health care meetings to be held in homes, community centers, churches, libraries and coffee shops around the country."

"Some of the people holding health care meetings were volunteers in Mr. Obama's presidential campaign. Some come from consumer groups like Health Care for America Now or from the Service Employees International Union, a strong, early supporter of Mr. Obama."

Not only is the discussion series shaping up to be massively successful (thanks to you!), but it's earning major kudos. As blogger Bob Laszewski says on Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review:

"About everyone, including the Obama health care team, believe...1993's top-down health care reform process was a big mistake. The new folks don't intend to make that mistake--good for them."

Some of the people holding health care meetings were volunteers in Mr. Obama's presidential campaign. Some come from consumer groups like Health Care for America Now or from the Service Employees International Union, a strong, early supporter of Mr. Obama.

Because of the massive interest, the New York Times is reporting that even the health insurance industry is "encouraging its employees and satisfied customers to attend." According to the New York Times, Obama transition team spokesperson Stephanie Cutter said that all parties and points of view are more than welcome at these gatherings:

"These are listening sessions,' Ms. Cutter said. 'We are trying to find people who share Obama's goal of health care reform, even if they disagree on the specifics.'"

Bob Laszewski (the blogger mentioned above) echoes that statement, stating that "health care is one of the biggest industries in the country, and it's completely legitimate for people who work in the industry -and certainly for satisfied customers of the industry- to show up and express themselves like any other citizen."

It's clear that the Obama team is trying to build some consensus among all parties. This makes it more than vital that caregivers like you attend these events. We're in the trenches every day, and our expertise absolutely needs to be heard.

To host your own house party, please visit http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremeetup/.

Last week, we wrote about the opportunity for you to become a health care leader in your community by hosting a health care meet-up near you. It's a chance to plug into the national health care discussion being initiated by President-elect Barack Obama's transition team over the next two weeks.

So far, community members of SEIU and its partner organizations Healthcare United and Americans for Health Care have volunteered to host a total of 200 of these meet-ups. You can still sign up to host your own by clicking here.

If you're hosting one of these events, you can find the official Change.gov moderator and participant guides to help you structure and guide your discussions.

Watch HHS Secretary-Designate Tom Daschle talk about why these discussions are so important:

Thursday, December 18th at 3pm EST, we'll be hosting a conference call for people who have signed up to be hosts (note new date). We'll spend just a few minutes offering some pointers for your gathering and letting hosts share your plans with each other. We'll also answer any specific questions you have. if you'd like to join us, please email info@imahealthcarevoter.org and we'll send you the call-in information.

If you've hosted or attended a health care meet-up in recent days, please feel free to share your experience in the comments section below!

Beginning this week, SEIU health care professionals, leaders and members will hold discussions with the Obama transition team about making comprehensive, affordable health care a reality for everyone in America. "Take the momentum of the win from election and actually turn it into change that works," said Dr. L. Toni Lewis, President of SEIU's Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR).

Submit your information and ideas directly to the transition team or sign up to host your own health care reform discussions.

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.

*Dec. 10, 2008 Update*: Here is the video of Senator Daschle's speech in Denver on fixing America's health care system, at the 2008 Colorado Health Care Summit.: