Health Care

Health care costs are spiraling out of reach of more and more Americans. The number of people losing employer health insurance is growing and most people who’ve gone bankrupt because of health care costs had insurance that didn’t work for them.

Hardworking North Dakotans are doing our part, working hard, trying to make ends meet. But, with insurance premiums in North Dakota rising three times faster than income, it is clear to most reasonable people that it is time to come together for change.

NDPeople.org is working with a wide diversity of groups and individuals all across North Dakota. We are coming together around the need for quality, affordable health care for all. As leaders of the Health Care for America Now campaign here in North Dakota we are partnering with thousands of activists across the nation to make real reform a reality in 2009.

WE HAVE A CHOICE

Americans have a choice between fending for yourself in an increasingly costly, complicated and inadequate insurance market or working for a solution in which all of us – individuals, employers, and government – share responsibility for guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care we all can count on.

President Obama and the US Congress are hammering out reforms this summer. There could be real change by the end of this year. But it won't happen unless we do our part.

We are supporting changes that bring us as close as possible to basic principles such as: quality affordable health care for all, the choice of keeping your private insurance or choosing a public Medicare like plan, coverage aimed at keeping people healthy (preventive care), choosing your health care providers, effective cost controls and cutting administration costs. Click here for more.

We invite North Dakotans to join our effort to make our voices heard on these choices. Click here to find out what you can do.

SEND US YOUR STORIES

The number of people and businesses having more difficulties with health care is growing. Too often people think they are alone. They're not. When people come together, tell their stories, find out lots of people are in very similar situations or close to it, then change can happen.

Let us know your experiences with not insurance, underinsurance, insurance that didn't cover what it should, or other experiences you'd like to share that would help identify waht needs to be changed.

GET THE FACTS

• Report on affordability of health insurance in North Dakota by Health Care for America Now. Report.
   
• “North Dakota Health-Plan Premiums Soar as Insurers Face Less Competition” Health Care for America Now. Report. News release.
   
• “Too Great a Burden: Americans Face Rising Health Care Costs”, Families USA. Report. News release.
   
• “The Uninsured: A Closer Look” North Dakota report by Families USA. Report.  News Release.
   
• "The Cost of Doing Nothing: North Dakota" by Change That Works.  Report.
   
• “Premiums vs. Paychecks” by Families USA. North Dakota. Report. News Release.
   
• “Left Behind: North Dakota’s Uninsured Children” Families USA. Report. News Release.
   
• “The Public Cost of Privatized Medicare: How Medicare Advantage is hurting Medicare beneficiaries and other North Dakota taxpayers”. Report. News Release.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION IN NORTH DAKOTA

NDPeople.org works hard to provide quality, helpful information bringing the voice of every day people into the community discussion on health care reform in our state. Click here to view some of the coverage of our efforts.