United Nurses Applaud Supreme Court Decision to Affirm Affordable Health Care
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Rogers
UNAC/UHCP Public Affairs Specialist
Cell: 909-263-7230 • Office: 909-451-0663
San Dimas, CA – The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) heartily endorses the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the Affordable Care Act, which will give 34 million uninsured Americans health care, as well as provide significantly strengthened consumer rights and protections for all insured.
“This is not just an abstract legal decision. Real lives and the heartbreak of real families will be saved because of it. We’ve got more people in California dying each year because they don’t have health insurance than any other state in the country. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the vast majority of us will be covered,” said Barbara Blake, RN, UNAC/UHCP Secretary-Treasurer.
“As nurses and health care professionals we would never turn away from a sick patient. This act makes that bedrock moral stance the law of the land by preventing insurers from turning away Americans with pre-existing conditions from their coverage,” said Ken Deitz, RN, President of UNAC/UHCP. “Nowhere does that mean more than here in California, where more residents are denied coverage for pre-existing conditions than in any other state.”
“We’ve worked long and hard to expand the availability of affordable, good quality health care in this country. The U.S. Supreme Court did the right thing today by maintaining President Obama’s Affordable Care Act for the benefit of all Americans,” said Blake.
UNAC/UHCP has long advocated health care reform that reduces costs, expands access and ensures patient safety and quality care. The Affordable Care Act contains much-needed reforms that move us toward those goals, and we have supported it at every stage of its passage into law.
Sources:
Report: Dying for Coverage: The Consequences of Being Uninsured: http://familiesusa2.org/assets/pdfs/Dying-for-Coverage.pdf
Study Links Premature Deaths to Lack of Health Insurance in Calif: http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2012/6/21/study-links-premature-deaths-to-lack-of-health-insurance-in-calif.aspx
In CA, Thousands Die Prematurely For Lack of Health Insurance: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0f697ed4090c930bf5558f9f5bb989d1
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The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, or UNAC/UHCP, is the largest nurses union in Southern California and represents registered nurses and other health care professionals. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. For more information on UNAC/UHCP, visit www.unachuchp.org.
