Released: April 24, 2006

Small business owners who want to provide their employees with health insurance coverage will have the chance to hear about a range of affordable options at a free seminar on Tuesday, May 2, from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Associated Grocers conference center on Anselmo Lane in Baton Rouge.

The seminar is one of several activities planned for the fourth Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan, nationwide effort to spotlight the fact that too many Americans are uninsured. From May 1-7, events will take place throughout the country, including press conferences, health and enrollment fairs, business events and campus and interfaith activities.

In the Baton Rouge area, events will include an interfaith prayer breakfast on Thursday, May 4, and a health fair on Saturday, May 6. Nearly 20 percent of adult Louisianians live without health insurance, many of them employed full-time.

“All Louisiana citizens — regardless of their insurance status — need to get involved and make their opinions count,” said James J. Donelon, Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Insurance — one of the local organizers of Cover the Uninsured Week. “Most of us are concerned about the rising costs of health care, empathize with the 945,000 Louisianians who have no coverage, and recognize that we too could one day find ourselves without health insurance. We all need to add our voices to share our concern about this urgent issue.”

The May 2 seminar will feature panel discussions on insurance basics, consumer-directed health care, health savings accounts, how to work with a broker and other topics. Attendees will receive several useful handouts on insurance options and will also be able to visit tabletop exhibits by the four major group health insurance carriers in our area: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Coventry, Humana and United Healthcare. Continental breakfast also will be provided.

Any small business owner in the greater Baton Rouge area is encouraged to attend, but attendance is limited by space; those interested should e-mail Karen Krumholt immediately at kkrumholt@ldi.state.la.us or call (225) 219-9343 to register.

In addition to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, members of the local coalition organizing Cover the Uninsured Week activities include the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Louisiana Business Group on Health, Louisiana Small Business Development Center Network and the Greater Baton Rouge Federation of Churches.

Organizations sponsoring Cover the Uninsured Week nationwide include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, Healthcare Leadership Council, AARP, United Way of America, American Medical Association, National Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Families USA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Service Employees International Union, The California Endowment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

According to the most recent figures available from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46 million Americans — including more than 8 million children — have no health coverage. The Institute of Medicine estimates that nearly 50 people die each day because they are uninsured and cannot get the medical care they need.

Organizers of Cover the Uninsured Week — the largest campaign in history to focus attention on the need to secure health coverage for Americans — will encourage people from all walks of life to talk with their friends and neighbors and get involved. An interactive website will help people express their concern by instantly sending an e-mail to their member of Congress.

For more information, log on to www.CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org.

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