Granite Staters Heading to DC to Rally for Health Care Reform
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June 24, 2009
Concord, NH - More than 100 New Hampshire residents are hopping on buses today. They'll end up in Washington, D.C., as part of a national rally on Thursday to support healthcare reform. Their message to Congress: The time for quality, affordable healthcare for all is now.
That reform, says Sarah Chaisson Warner, executive director of the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, must include a public health insurance option. While some in Congress insist the United States cannot afford the costs associated with such a plan, Chaisson Warner believes the nation cannot afford to wait.
"Any major reform - whether it's education reform, military reform and health care reform - requires the introduction of a large cash amount to create that reform, to produce long-term cost savings."
According to a recent report by Families USA, health insurance premiums for New Hampshire working families increased by almost 80 percent between 2000 to 2007. Cynthia Moniz, who chairs the Social and Legislative Action Committee for the New Hampshire chapter of The National Association of Social Workers, says many people have been edged out of the system as a result.
"For the average working, middle-class family that's struggling with sending kids to school and putting food on the table, insurance costs are just out of control. So, I think for New Hampshire, as everywhere, it's time we do something that makes it more affordable."
The rally is expected to attract thousands from around the country. The New Hampshire buses depart today and tonight from Berlin, Concord, Keene, Londonderry, Nashua and Portsmouth.