Menino urges Congress to pass health care overhaul

By Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today urged Congress today to pass legislation that would overhaul the nation's health care system, calling the proposal pending before the US House of Representatives an "opportunity to improve the health status of all Americans."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino

I have been working with the members of the Massachusetts delegation to make federal health reform a priority, so that people around our nation will have the same kind of access to health insurance that the citizens of Boston have. I also worked to deliver support for federal funding for public health departments, a strong public option, and affordable coverage for low-income and immigrant families.

With the passage of HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, we have the opportunity to improve the health status of all Americans across the country by not only increasing access to health care, but also by prioritizing prevention in medical services and supporting population health promotion activities.

Good health is the underpinning of everything we strive to achieve as a City and as a society. Children need good health and nutrition to learn in school; workers need to be healthy to be productive and creative; corporations and institutions need to know that they can plan their futures without worrying about either absenteeism or pandemic.

In Massachusetts we have seen the benefits of extending health coverage to everyone; and we need the nation to commit itself to ensuring that all Americans, regardless of place or income, have access to those services that protect health. It is the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.

I urge the members of Congress to fulfill this pledge made to the American people by generations of leaders and to provide a health security to the entire nation.