Educators Back National Healthcare System
Both national teachers’ unions are backing President Barach Obama’s revamp of the nation’s healthcare system. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers support the advertising of the program and are in favor of the effort to overhaul, waiting for a push that is expected this fall.
The measures currently approved by three House committees and being reviewed by a Senate panel have a provision to expand school-based health centers, delivering healthcare in schools or on school grounds.
These are the bills currently being pushed through Congress:
- “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act” (H.R. 3200) in the House of Representatives. Three House committees—Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor— have approved this legislation, though it still needs consideration through the full chamber. It will expand healthcare by offering subsidies to lower-income Americans and granting a public health insurance option that can compete with private insurance companies.
- “The Affordable Health Choices Act” in the U.S. Senate. This bill has been approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Like the House measure, it would provide subsidies to lower-income Americans and offer a public option. It also imposes stricter rules on private insurance plans, like the House bill.
The 3.2 million members in the NEA are backing the healthcare effort due to the bills steering clear of changes to members’ current coverage as negotiated with individual school districts; and it won’t include taxing on benefits. Both the NEA and the 1.4 million-member AFT are trying to avoid a bill that will pay for expanded coverage by taxing workers or employers who have wealthy healthcare insurance plans. This includes teachers and other school employees.
It is suspected if these do not pass that the former idea may be pushed through Congress in the future.
According to Higher Education News:
Bill Raabe, the NEA’s director of collective bargaining, said such a funding mechanism would amount to “double taxation” of moderate-income workers, including teachers and other district employees. Often, those workers “give up their salary increases” in exchange for more comprehensive, affordable benefit packages, Mr. Raabe said.
Having healthcare options for uninsured children also means a higher likelihood of those children coming to school. Of course, on the online education front, it does not matter as much whether a student has the sniffles; although the seriously ill certainly cannot operate a laptop.
“We see health care reform as an education issue,” Raabe said.
