WASHINGTON, DC - The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the nation's largest labor union for health care workers, issued the following statement in support of the diagnosis of and prescription for mending our broken health care system released by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) today:

On the heels of a historic election where voters ranked health care among their top overall issues--and health care costs as their number one economic concern--Senator Max Baucus's thoughtful and comprehensive approach to address the nation's broken health care system is a significant contribution to the growing discussion around solutions to the crisis.

At a time when ordinary families continue to struggle with paying the bills and affording quality health care--and the trends on cost, quality, and access remain headed in the wrong direction--settling for the status quo is simply unacceptable. America needs elected leaders who will stand with working families, employers, industry leaders, and other stakeholders in the effort to build a better, more inclusive, and cost-efficient health care system that keeps our country competitive.

Through his many years of public service, Senator Baucus has stood on the side of improving health care time and again. From sponsoring a listening tour with health care providers to hosting a summit on the issue; from chairing Congressional hearings to releasing his white paper today, Senator Baucus has clearly been listening to the concerns of Montana's small businesses, self-employed ranchers, and all Montanans who want real choices and access to affordable health care. His white paper in particular makes a strong commitment to improving access to health care for millions of uninsured individuals while bringing down costs for everybody.

With the release of his paper today, Senator Baucus demonstrates yet again why he is widely considered a champion for health care reform--and for the people of Montana. The working families of SEIU look forward to standing with Senator Baucus as he works with President-elect Obama and other Members of Congress to fix the country's ailing health care system once and for all.

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