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44 million U.S. people lack medical
insurance
• 33% of them are Latinos
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WASHINGTON (PL).—Of the 44 million people who lack
medical insurance in the United States, 33% of them
are Latinos, according to Eliseo Medina, executive
vice president of the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), in an article published
on June 20.
In
statements to the Spanish-language daily La
Opinion, Medina highlighted the crisis of the
health care system in the United States.
The
labor leader called on the presidential candidates
to address the lack of medical attention for
millions of U.S. people. He emphasized that above
all, “we want commitments” on medical care to be
made during the election campaigns, and pressure
will be brought to bear to that end.
In
that context, Medina pointed to the June 19
demonstration in San Francisco where some 10,000
people marched to demand universal, accessible and
quality health care for all. Demonstrators marched
over the Golden Gate Bridge, chanting demands for
health care.
For
his part, Jehmy Greene,
president of the organization Rock the Vote,
emphasized that last year, nearly 800,000 young
people lost their health insurance.
In turn, SEIU leader Andrew L. Stern affirmed that
every day more families are unable to pay for
medical insurance in the United States, in spite of
it being such a wealthy country.
During the march, it was revealed that 44 million
people in the United States do not have health
insurance, while millions more have no type of
protection at all, La Opinion reported.
Likewise, it was learned that under the George W.
Bush administration, some four million people in the
country have lost their medical insurance, while
health care costs have increased by nearly 50%, and
insurance premiums cost up to three times more.
The SEIU, Rock the Vote, Jobs with Justice and the
Americans for Health Care project announced the
formation of a coalition to seek a solution to the
health care crisis.
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