Nation's Largest Nurses Group: Senate Bill 'Could Actually Exacerbate The Health Care Crisis'

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Nation's Largest Nurses Group: Senate Bill 'Could Actually Exacerbate The Health Care Crisis'



National Nurses United, the nation's largest registered nurses union and professional organization, declared on Tuesday that the Senate health care bill gives away too much to insurance companies and "fails to meet the test of true health care reform."

"It is tragic to see the promise from Washington this year for genuine, comprehensive reform ground down to a seriously flawed bill that could actually exacerbate the health care crisis and financial insecurity for American families, and that cedes far too much additional power to the tyranny of a callous insurance industry," said co-president Karen Higgins in a statement.

"Sadly, we have ended up with legislation that fails to meet the test of true health care reform, guaranteeing high quality, cost effective care for all Americans, and instead are further locking into place a system that entrenches the chokehold of the profit-making insurance giants on our health. If this bill passes, the industry will become more powerful and could be beyond the reach of reform for generations," she added.

The group argued that the bill does not do enough to control prices considering it would force all Americans to buy insurance. They say many of the same flaws are in the House bill, and they don't expect the legislation to be improved in conference committee.

Here's the full statement: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/22/nations-largest-nurses-or_n_400765.html