More than 200 people from a diverse coalition of groups rallied Saturday at
the Capitol to call for "health care for all."
More than 200 people from a diverse coalition of groups rallied Saturday at
the Capitol to call for "health care for all."
Participants marched from
the West Virginia Health Right office on Washington Street to the Capitol,
chanting, "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!"
The event was part of Cover the Uninsured Week. More than 20
organizations sponsored the march, including labor unions, the state Chamber
of Commerce, health-care advocates and members of the religious community.
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Renate Pore (right) and Jonathan Settle listen to speakers
at a rally held as part of Cover the Uninsured Week at the
state Capitol on Saturday. Pore is president of the Healthy
Kids and Families Coalition
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"This is for very different groups to come together to continue our efforts
to push for a health-care system that includes everyone, not just the very
wealthy," said Elaine Harris, a representative for the Communication Workers
of America.
About one in seven West Virginians - or 245,000 people - had
no health insurance in 2006, the last year for which census data is
available.
The problem of the uninsured "has absolutely gotten worse" in recent
years, said Pat White, director of West Virginia Health Right.
The cost of medications has risen at a staggering rate, she said. At the
rally Saturday, White met a woman whose daughter's asthma medication costs
$5,400 a month.
Some patients at Health Right need weekly shots for Hepatitis C, she
said. The shots cost $800 each.
"If they don't have it, they die," she said. "Their liver fails, and they
die."
A national study released last week found that West Virginians' wages
have not nearly kept up with their insurance premiums.
Between 2002 and 2005, West Virginian policyholders' insurance premiums
increased 12 percent, while their wages dropped slightly, according to the
study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
People who lack health insurance face serious consequences, said Perry
Bryant, director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.
Women don't know they have breast cancer because they can't afford
mammograms. Diabetics let their condition deteriorate because they have no money
for medicine and maintenance care.
"A lot of people think that being uninsured is just an inconvenience," he
said. "And that's not the case."
The event Saturday was meant to bring together people with philosophical
differences who all see the importance of health insurance, he said.
Health-care advocates must work with the business community to find ways to
contain health costs, he said. The number of firms offering employees health
insurance dropped from 69 percent to 60 percent between 2000 and 2006.
Supporters of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama attended the event, sporting buttons and pins with the names of the
candidates.
Both candidates support universal health care. Clinton's plan would require
everyone to have insurance, while Obama's wouldn't.
Several people at the rally said they hope the election draws attention to
health-care reform.
"I think health care needs to be on the table this campaign season," said
Gary Zuckett, director of West Virginia Citizen Action Group. "I'm hoping the
candidates from the statehouse to the White House include that in their
campaigns."
