The National Coalition on Health Care - in a letter to both major presidential candidates and every member of Congress - has urged political leaders to "commit to putting aside partisan and ideological differences - and to reforming America's health care system - in the national interest."

In the letter, the Coalition called on Senators John McCain and Barack Obama and their colleagues in the Congress to "make health care reform a personal, as well as a national, priority."

For additional information, please click on the press release.

For the Members Only webpage, click here.

Did you know?

The number of uninsured in the U.S. increased by nearly 9 million people between 2000 and 2006.

Nearly 18 percent of non-elderly Americans — 47 million people — were without health insurance coverage in 2006. The number of Americans with no health insurance increased by 2.2 million between 2005 and 2006. Nearly one in every six people in the U.S. has no health insurance.

It is estimated that nearly 90 million people — about one third of the population below 65 — spent a portion of either 2006 or 2007 without health coverage.

The percentage of people with employment-based health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 59 percent in 2006.

The number of uninsured children in 2006 was 8.6 million - or 11.7 percent of all children.

Nearly 3.5 million fewer children had health insurance in 2006 than in 2000.

Uninsured Americans get about half the medical care of those with health insurance. Compared to people with health insurance, the uninsured receive less preventive care, are diagnosed at more advanced disease states and once diagnosed, tend to receive less therapeutic care and have higher mortality rates.

About 18,000 unnecessary deaths occur each year due to lack of health insurance.

It is estimated that we have spent as a nation nearly 13.5 trillion dollars on health care since 2000, but this expenditure has not resulted in demonstrably better quality of care or better patient satisfaction compared to other nations.

It is estimated that we will have spent $2.2 trillion on health care services in 2007 - about 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense.

Health care spending is estimated to reach $4.2 trillion a year by 2016 - just eight years from now.

On average, health insurance premiums for employers have doubled since 2000.

In 2007, employer health insurance premiums increased by 6.1 percent -two times the rate of inflation and wage increases.

The annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $12,100 in 2007.

The average employee contribution to company-provided health insurance increased more than 143 percent between 2000 and 2006.

Average out-of-pocket costs for co-payments, such as for prescriptions, deductibles and coinsurance for doctor visits, rose 115 percent between 2000 and 2006.

National surveys consistently show that the primary reason people are uninsured is because health coverage is too expensive.

It is estimated that nearly 700,000 patients have died in hospitals due to medical errors since 2000.

Unnecessary medical accidents, errors and poor quality are the nation’s third leading cause of death, just behind cancer and heart disease.

The Institute of Medicine estimates that nearly 100,000 patients die in hospitals each year due to medical errors. This is three times the number who die on the highways.

Recent studies show that only a little more than one-half of adult patients receive recommended care for their medical conditions.

It is estimated that 77 million Americans over the age of 19 have difficulty paying medical bills, have accrued medical debt, or both.