Seventh stop on AHIP's listening tour
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Working families
and small business owners today shared their health care stories and their
priorities for health care reform at a roundtable discussion in Providence,
Rhode Island, hosted by America's Health Insurance Plans' (AHIP) Campaign
for an American Solution.
"Families and small business owners in Rhode Island and across the
country are urging policymakers to make health care reform a top priority,"
said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "We presented our health
care reform proposals and received valuable feedback from concerned
citizens in Providence. Rhode Islanders agree that we need coverage for
every American, coverage they can afford, and coverage they can keep."
The roundtable discussion, which was held at the Rhode Island Quality
Institute, was the seventh stop on the listening tour of AHIP's Campaign
for an American Solution, a national grassroots and educational initiative
launched in July to build support for workable health care reform based on
core principles shared by the American people: coverage, affordability,
quality, value, choice and portability.
Over the past two years, AHIP's Board of Directors has developed a
range of comprehensive policy proposals to cover the uninsured, improve the
quality and safety of health care, reform the individual health insurance
market, and reduce rising health care costs. At each stop on the listening
tour, AHIP is sharing these proposals and soliciting feedback from the
participants to ensure they are addressing the key health care challenges
facing Americans across the country.
To learn more about AHIP's health care reform proposals, visit
http://www.AHIPBelieves.com.
Rhode Island -- and New England -- has fewer uninsured residents than
the rest of the country, with 10% of Rhode Islanders and 11% of New
Englanders lacking coverage, according to the 2008 National Health
Statistics Report. In 2006, the average Rhode Island family paid 20% of the
premium for health insurance coverage offered through work, or $2,387,
according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. This was nearly $500 less than
the national average. Among small businesses in Rhode Island, 57% offer
health coverage to employees, as opposed to the national average of 43%.
About the Campaign for an American Solution
The Campaign for an American Solution is a non-partisan, educational
and grassroots initiative of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the
national trade association whose members provide coverage to more than 200
million people. Our campaign is grounded in reform principles that are
shared by the American people: coverage, affordability, quality, value,
choice and portability. Please visit http://www.americanhealthsolution.org for
more information.
America's Health Insurance Plans - Providing Health Benefits to More
Than 200 Million Americans
SOURCE America's Health Insurance Plans
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