Quality, Affordable Health Care for Everyone

Minnesota families are finding it harder to make ends meet, and business and government are strained under the weight of increasing health care costs. We spend more and more money on health care each year, but more people are uninsured or underinsured and fewer people get the care they need when they need it.

• The U.S. spends $6,280 per person on health care, which is more than twice other industrialized countries. Yet 47 million Americans are uninsured, 48 million are underinsured, and health care costs are responsible for 50 percent of all personal bankruptcies.
• But at the same time, Americans are not getting the care they need. Only 55 percent of Americans get all recommended care. In Minnesota, only 10 percent of diabetes patients and 68 percent of patients with high blood pressure receive optimal care.

The time for change is now. We need a health care system that ensures that every Minnesotan has access to quality, affordable health care, focuses on keeping people healthy and not just treating the sick, and available to everyone regardless of where you live, what your job is, and how much you can pay.

As a union of 14,000 Minnesota health care workers, we are committed to improving the quality and affordability of health care for all Minnesotans. We support the following principles for health care reform so that all Minnesotans have access to quality, affordable health care.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota Principles for Health Care Reform