Greetings,

In this email:

1. ACTION: Nov. 5 - Phone Congress Day!

2. Health Care Update

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November 5th - Phone Congress Day! (Please see the attached flyer) 1-877-323-5246

Congress is shaping health care reform legislation right now!

No other group is able to mobilize like we can.  What labor does over the next few weeks will determine whether we win health care reform that:

• Includes a Public Health Insurance Plan Option;
• Requires all Employers to Pay or Play;
• Has NO Taxation of Benefits - new taxes would hurt working families; costs are crushing us already; and
• Controls costs and provides guaranteed coverage for all Americans.

Call Your Representatives on November 5th

Tell them:  "We need REAL health care reform which includes a public option, requires all employers to pay their fair share with NO taxation of benefits."

1-877-323-5246

Health Care Update

The following update follows the current state of our three legislative priorities in the news and provides additional health care related information.

1. Public Option

Senate Bill Will Include A Public Option
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced in a Capitol Hill press conference on Monday, October 26th, that he will send a health care reform bill to the Senate floor that includes a public option. States will have until 2014 to decide if they want to participate in the public plan.
Click Here to Read the Full Article.

A Majority of American Support A Public Option
A Washington Post-ABC News Poll reports that a "clear majority" of americans now support a public option.  Click here to read or listen to NPR's Coverage.

2. Taxation of Benefits & Pay or Play

Trumka: Health Care Reform Must Include Public Option, No Benefits Tax
This is the moment of truth. We have to be sure reform is real, and we have to be honest about that. The fight now is about what reform will look like.
Click Here to Read the Full Article.

Current Senate Bill Includes Taxation and No Employer Mandate
According to NRP's Morning Edition the merged Senate Bill contains no pay or play mandate for employers and includes taxation of higher cost health insurance plans. 
Click here to listen.

Taxation of Benefits Would Affect Millions of Americans
The Senate Finance Committee's health reform bill includes a tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans, those that cost substantially more than average. An updated report by CWA's research department shows that the Finance Committee's benefits tax would hit 31 million taxpayers -- one-third of all health plans -- by 2019.
Click Here to Read the Full Article.

3. Additional News

U.S. Health Care System Wasting Billions
A new report from Thomson Reuters shows how badly the nation’s health care system is failing working families. The report estimates that more than $500 billion, and maybe as much as $800 billion, is being wasted every year.
Click Here to Read the Full Article.

Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care
As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.
Click Here to Read the Full Article.

Don't Forget!
Call Congress on November 5th

Tell them:  "We need REAL health care reform which includes a public option, requires all employers to pay their fair share with NO taxation of benefits."

1-877-323-5246