Universal insurance suggested

PLAINS TWP. – U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, and state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, on Wednesday touted the urgent need for universal health care.

Health care was the topic at a workshop sponsored by the AFL-CIO Community Services Institute held at The Woodlands Inn & Resort. About 100 union members attended.

“There are 47 million Americans who have no health insurance,” Kanjorski said. “We need a universal plan to get all of them some coverage. Maybe everyone won’t be able to get a heart transplant, but they need some health coverage.”

Pashinski said health care is being driven by money, and he said the dwindling middle class must be taken care of now.

“I call it the Chevy plan,” Pashinski said. “Give some health coverage to all people. If some want a Cadillac plan or a Mercedes – that would be for the Botox and enhancement procedures – then they can pay for that.”

Kanjorski pointed to the number of people who go to emergency rooms for basic care.

“People without health care coverage are going there for rudimentary treatments. They are sick, but they don’t have coverage and need treatment,” he said.

Kanjorski urged his audience to vote, and he said the labor movement needs to continue to educate people about its roots and its accomplishments.

“Where do young people think unemployment compensation came from?” Kanjorski asked. “Or workman’s compensation, or Social Security, or Medicare, or the 40-hour work week? They were all developed by the labor movement and the Democratic Party.”

He said that with a Democratic Congress and president, universal health care will happen.

Pashinski talked about his union background, being a retired teacher and a member of the musicians union.

“Unions have lost strength,” Pashinski said. “Special-interest groups have divided us. We have to stay strong and work to make the middle class strong again.”

“People shouldn’t be looked at as dollars,” he said. “We have to get everyone to the table – the health-care delivery system, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical companies and the medical manufacturers -- and work together to control costs.”

Pashinski said a health-care plan that cost $4,000 to $5,000 about 15 to 20 years ago today costs $17,000 to $20,000.

“What will it take for people to rise up and fight for what is right?” Pashinski asked. “It took the price of a gallon of gas to get to $4 before people adjusted their lifestyles, and now the price is coming down.”

The AFL-CIO workshop gave members an opportunity to discuss issues and to hear what elected officials had to say.