Group’s Ad Urges More Affordable Health Insurance Coverage
"Forty-three million Americans have no health care coverage. And you're paying for it," reads a full-page ad in today's USA Today from the Healthcare Leadership Council as part of its Health Access America campaign. In smaller print below the initial message, the ad continues, "People without health insurance have significantly higher illness and mortality rates than those who have coverage. Millions of us face a greater likelihood of a serious illness or death too early in life. That's a tragedy we can't accept. And because doctors and hospitals are providing billions of dollars of care to the uninsured, the price we all pay for health care is increasing every day." The ad explains that the campaign, "led by the leaders of America's most respected and well-known health care companies and institutions," is calling for Congress to "help employers offer working families better, more affordable benefits and to improve existing programs to reach more Americans." The ad urges readers to contact their congressional representatives to tell them that the "time for accessible health benefits is now" (USA Today, 6/12). Healthcare Leadership Council members include pharmaceutical and managed care companies and hospitals (Healthcare Leadership Council Web site).
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