2009: The Year of Health Care Reform? Faith-Based Investors See Doubling of Related Shareholder Resolutions, Growing Public Support From Corpora...( More Than Decade-Long Campaign by Rel...),Health

More Than Decade-Long Campaign by Religious Investors is Bearing Fruit; A Dozen Top Firms Have Now Embraced Strong Principles for Health Care Reform.

NEW YORK, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- How strong is the impetus from faith-based and other institutional investors for a breakthrough in health care reform in 2009? The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a coalition of nearly 300 faith-based institutional investors representing over $100 billion in invested capital, reported today that:

• The number of health care reform shareholder resolutions at major corporations will rise from 12 in 2008 to 26 in the proxy season for 2009, including such top companies as American Express, Ford, Qualcomm, Staples, Verizon, Yum! Brands Inc.; and

• The ranks of top U.S. companies publicly embracing principles for health care reform now stands at more than 12, including Starbucks (just this month), McDonalds, Target, Lilly and Aetna. Support for the principles continues to grow; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., informed religious investors this week of the company's support for the principles.

ICCR and other institutional investors detailed how an intensive, decade-long push by religious investors has helped contribute to a critical mass in corporate America for sweeping health care reform in the near term.

Faith-based investors have urged America's corporations to adopt and publicly embrace principles for comprehensive health care reform (such as those based upon principles reported by the Institute of Medicine): (1) health care coverage should be universal; (2) health care coverage should be continuous; (3) health care coverage should be affordable to individuals and families; (4) the health insurance strategy should be affordable and sustainable for society; and (5) health insurance should enha
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