2019 -- S 0289

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION

ESTABLISHING AN IMPROVED "MEDICARE FOR ALL" SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM

THAT WOULD PROVIDE UNIVERSAL, COMPREHENSIVE AND AFFORDABLE

HEALTH CARE

     

     Introduced By: Senators Bell, Nesselbush, Quezada, Miller, and Seveney

     Date Introduced: February 13, 2019

     Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services

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     WHEREAS, Between 1991 and 2014, health care spending in Rhode Island per person

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rose by over 250 percent, rising much faster than income and greatly reducing disposable income;

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and

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     WHEREAS, It is estimated that by 2025, the cost of health insurance for an average

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family of four will equal about one-half of their annual income; and

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     WHEREAS, In the United States, about two-thirds of personal bankruptcies have been

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medical cost-related and of these, about three-fourths of those bankrupted had health insurance;

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and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island private businesses bear most of the costs of employee health

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insurance coverage and spend significant time and money choosing from a confusing array of

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increasingly expensive plans which do not provide comprehensive coverage; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island employees and retirees are losing significant wages and

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pensions as they are forced to pay higher amounts of health insurance and health care costs; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island and its municipalities face enormous Other Post-Employment

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Benefits (OPEB) unfunded liabilities, mostly due to health insurance costs; and

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     WHEREAS, Although Rhode Island significantly expanded health care coverage for its

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citizens under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), about 45,000 Rhode Islanders remain

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uninsured, and even fully implemented, the ACA would leave 42,000 Rhode Islanders (4 percent)

 

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uninsured and many more underinsured - resulting in numerous deaths per year; and

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     WHEREAS, Efforts at the federal level to repeal or defund the ACA, Medicare and

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Medicaid further threaten the health and welfare of Rhode Islanders; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States has hundreds of health insurance carriers (i.e., multiple

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"payers") who make our health care system unjustifiably inefficient and expensive, with about

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one-third of every health care dollar going towards administrative costs and not towards actual

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health care; and

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     WHEREAS, Every industrialized nation in the world, except the United States, offers

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universal health care to its citizens under a "single payer" program and enjoys better health

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outcomes for about one-half the cost; and

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     WHEREAS, Health care is rationed under our current multi-payer system, despite the

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fact that Americans already pay enough money to have comprehensive and universal health

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insurance under a single-payer system; and

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     WHEREAS, Single payer health care would establish a true "free market" system where

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doctors compete for patients rather than health insurance companies dictating which patients are

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able to see which doctors and setting reimbursement rates; and

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     WHEREAS, The high costs of medical care could be lowered significantly if the state

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could negotiate on behalf of all its residents for bulk purchasing, as well as gain access to usage

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and price information currently kept confidential by private health insurers as "proprietary

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information"; and

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     WHEREAS, Proposed federal improved Medicare for All single payer legislation

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introduced in the 115th Congress would have provided comprehensive coverage by substituting

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lower amounts of increased taxes for higher amounts of premiums, co-pays, deductibles and

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payments for amounts in excess of caps; and

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     WHEREAS, Such comprehensive coverage would have included vision, hearing and

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dental care, mental health and substance abuse services, as well as prescription medications,

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medical equipment, supplies, diagnostics and treatments; and

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     WHEREAS, Health care providers will benefit under improved Medicare for All single

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payer because they will spend significantly less time with administrative work caused by multiple

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health insurance company requirements and barriers to care delivery and will spend significantly

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less for overhead costs because of streamlined billing; and

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     WHEREAS, There is extensive research that shows an improved Medicare for All single

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payer program will benefit all Americans by providing universal comprehensive affordable health

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care coverage and establishing a funding system that is public, progressive, sustainable and

 

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contains health care costs; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby recognizes the need for the United States government to implement an improved Medicare

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for All single payer program and hereby respectfully urges Congress to pass single payer

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legislation as previously introduced in Congress; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the clerk of the United States House of

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Representatives, the clerk of the United States Senate, and to members of the Rhode Island

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Congressional Delegation.

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