PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 2671, 2925, 2926 PRINTER'S NO. 3128
No. 215 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY RICHARDSON, KUKOVICH, CIVERA, BELARDI, JAROLIN,
BILLOW, MELIO, FEE, TRELLO, TIGUE, PETRARCA, GIGLIOTTI,
JOSEPHS, THOMAS, PESCI, ANGSTADT, KASUNIC, BISHOP, LAUGHLIN,
MIHALICH, SALOOM, PISTELLA, VEON, KOSINSKI, JAMES, HUGHES,
DONATUCCI AND SCRIMENTI, NOVEMBER 12, 1991
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
FEBRUARY 11, 1992
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing the Congress and the President of the United
2 States to expeditiously enact health care legislation.
3 WHEREAS, The present health care system in the United States
4 has major flaws, including unequal access to care and treatment,
5 uncontrollable costs, underfunding of preventive care and
6 unequal distribution of health care facilities and providers;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, Long term care is a continuing, desperate need for
9 hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians causing family
10 bankruptcies and delays and denials of care for senior citizens;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, The Medicaid program is growing at an insupportable
13 rate for the Commonwealth's budget and is not keeping up with
14 the needs of Pennsylvanians while the Medicare program continues
15 to shift costs to our senior citizens and to other insured
16 Pennsylvanians; and
1 WHEREAS, THE COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE IS NOT <--
2 AFFORDABLE FOR MANY SMALL BUSINESSES, THEIR EMPLOYEES, SELF-
3 EMPLOYED PERSONS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS; AND
4 WHEREAS, More than 40 million Americans, including more than
5 1 million Pennsylvanians, are currently without health
6 insurance; and
7 WHEREAS, Children's health care is deteriorating resulting in
8 an overall 30% of two-year-olds not having essential childhood
9 vaccinations and infant mortality rates placing the United
10 States 22nd in the world; and
11 WHEREAS, The continuing AIDS epidemic and the developing near
12 epidemic of tuberculosis require a health system which promotes
13 prevention and which offers prompt and comprehensive care to be
14 effective and affordable; and
15 WHEREAS, The current patchwork of health care programs in the
16 United States has resulted in a system which excludes millions
17 of Americans and affords unequal treatment to those it accepts
18 if they happen to be poor or underinsured; and
19 WHEREAS, The United States currently spends 12.2% of its
20 Gross National Product for health care, a far greater proportion
21 than any other industrialized country, and yet it lags behind
22 many other countries in several important categories, such as
23 infant mortality, life expectancy and the prevention of deaths
24 from cancer and cardiovascular disease; and
25 WHEREAS, A healthy population is one of our Nation's most
26 precious resources; and
27 WHEREAS, A single payer national health insurance system
28 would COULD streamline administrative procedures and <--
29 substantially reduce the cost of providing health care; and
30 WHEREAS, The United States and South Africa are the only two
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1 industrialized countries in the world that do not provide a
2 national health care program for their citizens; and
3 WHEREAS, Unlike other western, industrialized nations, health
4 care in the United States is currently a privilege that is
5 linked to the ability to pay; and
6 WHEREAS, Health care should be a right of all citizens and
7 should not be denied to persons who are unable to pay for it or
8 to obtain insurance; and
9 WHEREAS, National health insurance must be instituted IN SUCH <--
10 A MANNER AS to ensure that all Americans have access to high
11 quality, affordable health care; therefore be it
12 RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth
13 of Pennsylvania that a health care crisis exists and requires
14 national action. The Commonwealth will address these individual
15 and collective crises as best it can but will also continue at
16 every opportunity to work to convince elected Federal officials
17 to solve this health care crisis by implementing a single payer
18 national health care system with a defined role for the states;
19 and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That the Congress and the President of the United
21 States are respectfully memorialized to expeditiously enact
22 health care legislation which meets the following requirements:
23 (1) Health care must be recognized as a fundamental
24 right.
25 (2) All Americans must be covered.
26 (3) It must save money.
27 (4) It must lead to lower costs for middle class
28 families.
29 (5) It must lead to lower costs for businesses who
30 already provide health insurance.
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1 (6) It must employ free market principles that improve
2 the quality of care and limit costs.
3 (7) It must control medical inflation.
4 (8) It must meet the need for long-term care.
5 (9) IT MUST TAKE COGNIZANCE OF THE VALUE OF CHILDREN'S <--
6 PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES, INCLUDING PRENATAL CARE, WELL-
7 BABY CARE AND MEDICALLY NECESSARY IMMUNIZATIONS.
8 (10) IT MUST ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF AVAILABILITY OF LOW-
9 COST COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR SMALL
10 EMPLOYERS AND QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES AND GROUPS.
11 (9) (11) It must use existing public resources. <--
12 (10) (12) It must not require any new taxes on working <--
13 families.
14 (11) (13) It must spread the burdens of cost more fairly <--
15 than the current system;
16 and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
18 the President of the United States and to the presiding officers
19 of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
20 Pennsylvania.
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