Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen’s Action of Wisconsin, said the Families USA report underscored the value of the Affordable Care Act for people with pre-existing health conditions.
The law, Kraig said, “will end — once and for all — this shocking attack on the basic freedom to control our own health care decisions.”
Kraig also lashed out at Gov. Scott Walker, who has said he will not implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act at least until after the elections in November. Walker and other Republicans opposed to the law are hoping for a GOP takeover of the White House and Senate to go along with their control of the House of Representatives to repeal the health care law.
“It is grossly irresponsible for Scott Walker to put partisan politics ahead of the freedom of everyone in Wisconsin to make their own health care decisions,” Kraig said, “free from discrimination, and to have guaranteed access to quality affordable health coverage.”
Monday, July 30th is the 47th Birthday of Medicare & Medicaid. These programs help hundreds of thousands of people in Wisconsin get the coverage they need to protect their health. In fact according to a recent report on the benefits of Medicare & Medicaid in Wisconsin
Medicare Beneficiaries In Wisconsin: 881,861 Percent Of Residents Receiving Benefits 15.5 percent Average Benefit $9,007 Total Annual Benefits $7.9 billion
Medicaid Beneficiaries In Wisconsin 1,028,272 Percent Of Residents Receiving Benefits 18.2 percent Average Benefit $6,500 Total Annual Benefits $6.7 billion
Next Monday, July 30th at 11:00am, advocates, seniors, and consumers still upset about Congressman Reid Ribble’s vote to cut health care in order to give vast new tax breaks to the wealthy will gather in front of the Congressman’s Appleton office dressed in patient gowns. They are coming not with cakes and candles to mark the 47th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, but instead with tough questions for Congressman Ribble about his support for ending Medicare as we know it and gutting Wisconsin’s popular BadgerCare program.
Join us!
What: Seniors and Consumers Demand Answers on Ribble’s Support for Cutting Medicare & BadgerCare When: Monday July 30, 11AM (47th Birthday of Medicare & Medicaid) Where: In Front of Congressman Reid Ribble’s Appleton Office, 333 West College Avenue, Appleton Visuals: Seniors and health care consumers in patient gowns and with signs, demanding answers on proposed cuts to Medicare and BadgerCare.
MKE Bus Tour to Increase the Minimum Wage (Tuesday, July 24th)
Less than 48 hours after the minimum wage bus tour rolled through poverty wage workplaces in Milwaukee, the County Board approved a resolution calling on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage and the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. The county is the first local unit of government in the country to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 (H.R. 6211).
“I am proud to have passed this resolution on the same day that the Fair Minimum Wage Act was introduced in Congress. CEOs of the 50 largest low-wage employers make an average of over $9 million a year, while minimum wage pays just over $15,000. The pay for just one of those CEOs is the same as the total for over 625 workers trying to support families,” said the resolution’s author County Supervisor Nikiya Harris.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and other members of the coalition behind the campaign worked with Supervisor Harris to draft, introduce and pass the minimum wage resolution. Sup. Harris was a featured speaker on the bus tour held Tuesday as part of a nationwide day of action to raise the minimum wage
“It feels great to see the County Board stand up for people like me,” said Jasmine West, a former minimum wage McDonald’s employee who took part in Tuesday’s action. “When I worked at McDonald’s, I couldn’t support my family and had to move in with my mother. Something is wrong when hardworking Americans are forced to go on public assistance and still can’t make ends meet. I really hope that Congress passes the Fair Minimum Wage Act; it’s the right thing for Milwaukee and for our Country,” continued West.
Though cost of living has gone through the roof, the minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for three year. The current minimum wage amounts to only $15,080 a year for full-time work, almost $9,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. The minimum wage for tipped workers is even lower, remaining frozen at $2.13 since 1991. In fact, there is not a single city in the Country where a minimum wage employee working full-time can afford a market rate two bedroom apartment.
“The resolution passed today brings Milwaukee County to the forefront of a national conversation about how to best restore balance, fairness, and economic security to the millions of hard working American families that remain deep in poverty despite working full-time,” said Jennifer Epps-Addison, Economic Justice Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “We’ve created a culture in our society where companies pass the cost of their poverty wages on to American taxpayers. For example, in Wisconsin, the top three employers of BadgerCare recipients – Walmart, McDonald’s, and Aurora – are all making huge profits on the backs publicly subsidized minimum wage workers,” added Epps-Addison.
The campaign to increase the minimum wage is backed by a coalition of community, faith, and labor organizations including Citizen Action of Wisconsin, 9to5, We Are Milwaukee, SEIU, MICAH, Voces de la Frontera, AFT Local 212, and Wisconsin Jobs Now. More information and the text of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012.
According to a new Families USA Report (co-released with Citizen Action of Wisconsin) the national health care reform law will provide significant new protections for 1.3 million non-elderly Wisconsinites who have pre-existing health conditions and are at risk of insurance company coverage denials. These Wisconsinites constitute more than one in four non-elderly in the state.
Under the Affordable Care Act, all of these Wisconsinites can no longer be denied coverage, charged a higher premium, or sold a policy that excludes coverage of important health services simply because of a pre-existing condition. These protections begin in January 2014, but children with pre-existing conditions are already protected through the new law against coverage denials.
The likelihood that a Wisconsinite has a pre-existing condition grows as they age: one in five people aged 18 to 24 have a pre-existing condition; more than a third 35-44 year olds have such a condition; as do half of those 55-64 years old.
“This important new report documents an appalling pattern of health insurance industry discrimination which impacts at least 1.3 million non-elderly Wisconsinites from all regions of the state,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “The Affordable Care Act will end once and for all this shocking attack on the basic freedom to control our own health care decisions.”
Governor Scott Walker is refusing to implement the Affordable Care Act until at least after the presidential election. “It is grossly irresponsible for Scott Walker to put partisan politics ahead of the freedom of everyone in Wisconsin to make their own health care decisions, free from discrimination, and to have guaranteed access to quality affordable health coverage,” Kraig continued.
“More than 1.3 million Wisconsinites will now have the peace of mind and security they want for themselves and their families because they can no longer be denied coverage by an insurance company just because their doctor diagnosed a health problem,” Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, said today.
“Teachers, policemen and firefighters, businessmen and laborers, professionals in all walks of life have for decades faced the threat of physical and financial devastation because they could not buy a health insurance policy due to their pre-existing health conditions,” Pollack said. “The Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – stops this discrimination and opens the door to quality coverage for all Wisconsinites.” According to Families USA, the numbers depicted in the report are conservative for two reasons. First, the analysis only looks at people with diagnosed conditions that are most likely to result in a denial of coverage; many other conditions could also lead to a denial of coverage or a discriminatory premium. Second, many more Wisconsinites likely have similar health conditions, but they have not yet been diagnosed because they are uninsured and didn’t see a doctor. Get a copy of the Families USA report, “Worry No More: Wisconsinites with Pre-Existing Conditions Are Protected By the Health Care Law.”
The federal minimum wage hasn't been raised in 3 years, and every year without a raise means inflation is eating away at workers' buying power. If the cost of milk, fuel, and food keeps going up then why is the minimum wage stuck at $7.25? Our economy can't recover if workers can afford even their basic living expenses!
Putting more money into the pockets of ordinary Americans would give a much-needed boost to our economy. Small businesses would grow and hire, and we'd put people in our communities back to work.
• The minimum wage can't support our families: The current federal minimum wage — at $7.25 an hour — amounts to only $15,080 a year. That's almost $9,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four.
• We get $7.25. The federal minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation, but CEO pay has risen 725% over the last 30 years.
• We’ve got some catching up to do: If the federal minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years, it would currently be at $10.55.
People who work for a living should be able to live off of their wages. Real legislation is being discussed right now, and it's up to us to show that there is a wealth of support for raising the minimum wage and increasing the spending power for working Americans.
Join us tomorrow July 24th @ Noon in Milwaukee! for a Raise the Minimum Wage! Media Conference and Bus Tour. We start at McDonald's on North Ave and 9th St. with workers talking about their struggles to survive on $7.25. Followed by a bus tour of low-wage work in Milwaukee, including a stop at the Palermo's Pizza Co. where workers are striking for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
In an op-ed in today’s Washington Post, Governor Scott Walker cherry picks data from an actuarial report by MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber to present a very misleading impression of the impact of the Affordable Care Act in Wisconsin. The Walker Administration’s misleading representation of this report drew controversy last fall. The misrepresentations were detailed in Citizen Action op-eds in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Capital Times last year.
Walker fails to mention many of the most important findings in the Gruber report, including the single most significant finding that the health care reform law will result in 340,000 uninsured Wisconsinites gaining coverage. Walker attempts to create the false impression that Wisconsinites will lose coverage.
Walker does not mention the report findings that showed Wisconsinites who buy insurance on their own will receive $729 million in federal tax credits and subsidies to make health insurance more affordable and that 41% will receive significant premium reductions averaging 56%.
Walker also does not mention the report finding that 47% of Wisconsin small employers will see premium reductions averaging 16% or that most small employers who provide health coverage to their employees will continue to do so.
Crucially, Walker’s numbers on rate increases are all a result of a sorting out of the health insurance market that will take place when health insurance industry discrimination is ended. By pulling his numbers out of context, Walker hides from view that most people will be much better off in the long term once health insurance industry discrimination is outlawed. Walker’s rate increase numbers relate to those who would pay more in the short term because health care reform forces the insurance industry to end discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, age and gender, and requires higher quality coverage. In the current health insurance market, individuals and small groups of younger and healthier people get lower rates because the insurance industry discriminates against others and because it sometimes sells substandard policies that do not meet new national consumer standards. Insurers currently can deny coverage, charge discriminatory rates or add exclusionary riders for policyholders with pre-existing conditions.
Ending this discrimination will cause some individuals who are fortunate enough to get a low premium in the current system to pay higher premiums in the short term, but in return they will get a guarantee of higher quality coverage that can’t be taken away. “The most significant point covered over by the Walker's spin is that comparing the insurance people or small employers can buy on their own today to what will be available under the new law is not an apples-to-apples comparison,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “People who are fortunate enough to be young and healthy today might get a good deal from the health insurance industry, but they can lose coverage or be priced out as they age or if they acquire medical conditions. If a small employer has affordable coverage today, one employee acquiring a serious medical condition can price the whole group out of the market. That is why only a third of small businesses in Wisconsin can currently afford to provide health coverage to their employees.“
“Once national health care reform is fully implemented, consumers will have access to coverage in a new marketplace where the insurance industry cannot take it away or charge discriminatory rates as a person ages or his or her health status changes,” Kraig continued. “Scott Walker’s cherry picking of the data is an attempt to cover up the fact that health care reform will return control of health care decisions to patients and their doctors, rather than insurance industry bureaucrats, and will guarantee that everyone has a place to go to get quality affordable health coverage.”
Today will be the 31st attack on the rights of patients
When the House votes to repeal Obamacare for the 31st time, they will be attacking every sick child, neighbor, grandparent, etc who will be protected by the law, wasting another opportunity to do the work we sent them to Washington to do.
Thirty-one attacks on people who will be protected from preexisting condition discrimination.
Thirty-one attacks on consumers who will receive rebates from their insurance companies who spend too much on CEO compensation & paperwork, and not enough on healthcare.
Thirty-one attacks on everyone who has taken, or plans to take, advantage of free preventive care to decrease costly emergency room visits and stay healthy long term.
It is quite clear that Congress is going to do nothing productive soon to ensure Americans get quality affordable coverage, it is now up to the States. Yet even here the GOP is threatening to block implementation on healthcare reform.
The law is constitutional, attacks against it are purely political. Make sure that everyone knows what is in this law so political partisanship doesn't destroy your rights as a patient. Invite Citizen Action to present to your town on what is in the Affordable Care Act
Milwaukee: Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, made the following statement in response this morning’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
“This historic ruling is a major step towards establishing the freedom of every American to make their own health care decisions. We are one step closer to every American having the peace of mind of knowing that health care will be there when they need it. The court’s decision is a particular relief to nearly one million Wisconsinites who have preexisting conditions who will face outrageous discrimination if they ever have to buy insurance on their own. Now that a conservative Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of the health care law, we believe that Governor Walker has a moral obligation to restart the implementation process here in Wisconsin. We call on Walker to stop playing politics with people’s lives.”
TONIGHT, 6:00PM Statewide Supreme Court Affordable Healthcare Act Decision Webinar SIGN UP NOW to join the webinar to discuss the ramifications of the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act the evening of the decision. Madison • Saturday, September 15th, 10:00am – 7:00pm o Fighting Bob Fest, Alliant Energy Center, Madison. For more information: www.fightingbobfest.org/
Milwaukee • TODAY, 2:15pm
o Citizen Action of Wisconsin will host a media event in Milwaukee on the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Outside Federal Courthouse, 517 E Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Speakers include: Robert Kraig, Executive Director, Citizen Action of Wisconsin; State Representative Jon Richards; and State Representative Sandy Pasch.
Support Striking Palermo’s Pizza workers in MKE. The company has taken retaliatory action against the plant workers who are organizing their own union- Palermo's Workers Union. Join the striking workers at the picket line in front of the plant at 3301 W. Canal St. during workers' shift changes- early morning (8-10 am), mid-afternoon (2-4 pm, and late evening (8-10 pm). Call Palermo's at 414-643-0919 and tell them you won’t support Palermo’s product until they respect workers right to organize.
Donate to strike fund See video of Milwaukee Educators joining the picket. To add an event email matt.brusky@citizenactionwi.org
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MKE Bus Tour to Increase the Minimum Wage (Tuesday, July 24th)
