Voices of Reform
There’s no issue that touches people more directly than health care, so there’s good reason for people to want as much reassurance as they can get before the country goes ahead with reform.
That’s why those who work in our health care system day in and day out have a unique role in weighing in on the merits of any reform effort.
In that field, one could hardly find a better voice than Marla J. Weston, PhD, RN, head of the American Nurses Association, who spoke out today loudly and clearly: “If ever there was a time to trust a nurse—that time is now. Please trust me when I tell you that we can’t afford to put off reform for one more administration—one more political season—or even one more day… This legislation will enact very real and much-needed insurance reforms; it will place a new focus on wellness and prevention, improving access to primary care and expanding coverage to over 30 million people.”
It would only make sense that Americans listen to groups dedicated to advocating for the sick and disabled, for our kids and our nation’s seniors, and for the American consumer. And for women, communities of color, and people of faith, it is more than understandable that they would want to hear from groups that have studied the proposals closely to see how it impacts them and their communities. Organizations representing 59,000 Catholic nuns, for example, joined together today to passionately urge Congress to act: “In this Lenten time, we have launched nationwide prayer vigils for health care reform. We are praying for those who currently lack health care. We are praying for the nearly 45,000 who will lose their lives this year if Congress fails to act. We are also praying for you and your fellow Members of Congress as you complete your work in the coming days. For us, this health care reform is a faith mandate for life and dignity of all of our people.”
Small businesses, fighting through a still-tough economy, also rightly want to know what this would mean for them, and the Small Business Majority makes the case (click), on the benefits, adding that “Two-thirds or more of small business owners we polled in 17 states agree that healthcare reform is needed now to get the US economy back on track.”
But those groups are just the tip of the iceberg -- in an unprecedented show of diverse, even sweeping support, a virtual army of organizations came out in support of the President’s health reform proposal this morning as Congress prepares to make its final decisions. The astounding list of 244 organizations provided Families USA, which led the way in coordinating the coalition, is below:
Physicians' and nurses' organizations
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Academy of Physician Assistants
- American College of Nurse Midwives
- American College of Physicians
- American Nurses Association
- American Psychiatric Nurses Association
- Doctors for America
- National Medical Association
- National Physicians Alliance
- Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office
- Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
- Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition
Consumer organizations:
- American Library Association
- Americans for Democratic Action
- Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
- Center for Adolescent Health & the Law
- Center for Rural Affairs
- Center for the Study of the American Electorate
- CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
- Change That Works
- Coalition on Human Needs
- Common Cause
- CommonHealth ACTION
- Community Action Partnership
- Community Catalyst
- Community Transportation Association of America
- Consumer Action
- Consumer Federation of America
- Consumers' CHECKBOOK/Center for the Study of Services
- Consumers Union
- Corporation for Supportive Housing
- Families USA
- Family Equality Council
- Health Care For All
- Health Care for America Now
- National Association of Human Rights Workers
- National Association of Neighborhoods
- National Center on Caregiving, Family Caregiver Alliance
- National Coalition for LGBT Health
- National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
- National Coalition on Health Care Action Fund
- National Consumers League
- National Family Caregivers Association
- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- National Health Law Program
- National Legal Aid and Defender Association
- National Patient Advocate Foundation
- National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness
- National Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable
- National Respite Coalition
- Opinion Leaders Advocacy Network
- Partnership for Prevention
- Prescription Policy Choices
- Progressive States Network
- Project Inform
- RESULTS
- Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
- Small Business Majority
- SparkLight Communications
- State Legislators for Health Care Reform
- Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc.
- The Center for Health Care Policy Research and Analysis
- The Main Street Alliance
- U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group)
- United Neighborhood Centers of America
- Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN)
- USAction
- VetsFirst
Groups representing communities of color
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Asian American Justice Center
- Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
- Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives
- Black Women's Health Imperative
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
- Healthcare Access Project
- Hispanic Dental Association
- Japanese American Citizens League
- NAACP
- National Association of Hispanic Nurses
- National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer III, Community Networks Program
- National Congress of American Indians
- National Congress of Black Women, Inc.
- National Council of Asian & Pacific Islander Physicians
- National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
- National Council of Urban Indian Health
- National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives
- National Health Equity Coalition
- National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
- National Hispanic Council on Aging
- National Hispanic Medical Association
- National Indian Health Board
- National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
- National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health
- OCA
- Out of Many, One
- Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition
- Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium
- The Access Project
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCR)
Disease and disability organizations
- AIDS Action Council
- Alzheimer's Foundation of America
- American Association for Cancer Research
- American Association of People with Disabilities
- American Association on Health and Disability
- American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)
- American Diabetes Association
- American Heart Association
- American Network of Community Options and Resources
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities
- Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
- Autism Society of America
- Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
- Brain Injury Association of America
- Colon Cancer Alliance
- Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief Coalition
- Defeat Diabetes Foundation
- Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
- Easter Seals
- Eating Disorders Coalition
- Epilepsy Foundation
- HealthHIV
- HIV Medicine Association
- LIVESTRONG
- Malecare Prostate Cancer Support
- Mental Health America
- National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
- National Association of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils
- National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
- National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
- National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations
- National Disability Rights Network
- National Down Syndrome Congress
- National Foundation for Mental Health
- National Lung Cancer Partnership
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- National Spinal Cord Injury Association
- Paralyzed Veterans of America
- The AIDS Institute
- The Arc of the United States
- The LGBT Cancer Project - Out With Cancer
- Tourette Syndrome Association
- United Cerebral Palsy
- United Spinal Association
- Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network
Organizations representing hospitals and health providers
- American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
- American Counseling Association
- American Group Psychotherapy Association
- American Hospice Foundation
- American Mental Health Counselors Association
- American Music Therapy Association
- American Psychological Association
- American Public Health Association
- American Social Health Association
- Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
- Association for the Advancement of Psychology
- Association of Community Affiliated Plans
- Clinical Social Work Association
- Federation of American Hospitals
- National Academies of Practice
- National Alliance for Caregiving
- National Association of Community Health Centers
- National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
- National Association of Social Workers
- National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
- PHI - Health Care for Health Care Workers
- Therapeutic Communities of America
Labor organizations
- American Federation of Government Employees
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
- California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)
- International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)
- National Education Association
- Service Employees International Union
- United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
Religious organizations
- American Association of Pastoral Counselors
- American Friends Service Committee
- Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
- Association of Professional Chaplains
- B'nai B'rith International
- Catholic Health Association of the United States
- Clergy Strategic Alliances, LLC
- Disciples Justice Action Network
- Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church
- Evangelicals for Social Action
- Faithful America
- Faithful Reform in Health Care
- Friends Committee on National Legislation
- Friends Fiduciary Corporation
- Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
- Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
- National Association of Jewish Chaplains
- National Council of Churches, USA Health Task Force
- NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
- Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Justice Team
- The Healing of the Nations Foundation
- The Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence
- Union for Reform Judaism
- Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
- United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
- Witness Justice
- Women of Reform Judaism
Seniors and children’s organizations
- Alliance for Children and Families
- Alliance for Retired Americans
- Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
- Child Welfare League of America
- Children's Defense Fund
- Every Child Matters Education Fund
- Family Voices
- First Focus Campaign for Children
- Generations United
- Medicare Rights Center
- National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health
- National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
- National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
- National Council on Aging
- National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
- National Senior Citizens Law Center
- NCCNHR: The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
- Society for Adolescent Medicine
- The Children's Partnership
- Voices for America's Children
- Volunteers of America
Women’s organizations
- Breast Cancer Network of Strength
- Family Violence Prevention Fund
- League of Women Voters of the United States
- Legal Momentum
- MomsRising
- National Breast Cancer Coalition
- National Cervical Cancer Coalition
- National Partnership for Women & Families
- National Research Center for Women & Families
- National Women's Law Center
- Our Bodies Ourselves
- OWL - The Voice of Midlife and Older Women
- U.S. Positive Women's Network
- Wider Opportunities for Women
- Women Together for Change
Posted by on March 17, 2010 at 03:30 PM EDT
XOXO
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