PNHP note: Nancy Raskauskas of the Corvallis Gazette-Times, in her April 4 story about the Corvallis City Council’s meeting that same day, notes: “The council voted 6-3 in favor of supporting House Bill 3510 which would create a single payer health care system for Oregon.” The text of the council’s resolution follows. A list of other city governments who have endorsed single payer can be found here.
Resolution as proposed by Dr. Hank Elder to the City Council of the City of Corvallis on March 23, 2011:
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Corvallis believes that every citizen and family in our city, county, the state of Oregon, and the United States will benefit from affordable, quality health care, and the City Council believes that disruptive health care costs to local economies and governments would be reduced thereby; and
WHEREAS, over 85 million Americans have major health care insurance problems, including 40 million Americans currently uninsured and more than 45 million Americans nationwide currently under-insured; the burden on both small and large employers, both private and public, of providing employee health insurance is becoming increasingly difficult and prohibitively expensive, which impacts their ability to remain competitive; and
WHEREAS, as a major local employer, the City of Corvallis provides health insurance for over 400 employees and their families and has worked for many years to provide cost effective, responsive health care insurance through an investment in health strategy and partnerships with other employers, and yet has still experienced rapid increases in health care premiums and expenses; and
WHEREAS, such matters as health care affordability and access ultimately are community issues with local importance and long-term impacts that strain local government budgets in diverse ways, such as public safety and school health issues; and
WHEREAS, the Corvallis Vision 2020 Statement references such impacts and sets a community goal for comprehensive health services that are easily accessible and available to all residents; and
WHEREAS, Americans spend more for health care as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product than any other industrially developed nation; and America unlike other developed nations has a fragmented health care delivery system, which contributes to higher costs and inefficiencies; and
WHEREAS, even those people who have health insurance experience high medical debt, and medical costs are a frequent cause of filing personal bankruptcy for those that are insured as well as those who lack insurance; and
WHEREAS, numerous reports show that private insurance systems have significantly higher administrative costs compared to public single-payer systems such as Medicare and the Veterans Administration and that bills have been filed in Congress seeking single-payer comprehensive health system reform, including H.R. 676 (Improved Medicare for All); and
WHEREAS polls taken among American physicians show that a significant majority believe that single-payer systems offer the best method of securing affordable health care and these opinions are shared by other health care professionals as indicated by endorsements from the National Medical Association, American Medical Women’s Association, American Medical Student Association, American Association of Community Psychiatrists, American Nurses Association, California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, Oregon Chapter Academy of American Family Physicians, and the American Public Health Association; and
WHEREAS, single-payer systems have been endorsed by local governmental units such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Lane County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the City of Corvallis is involved in health reform discussions through its membership in the Oregon Healthcare Purchasers Coalition and its own health care and wellness programs as well as providing services to the community in support of healthy and active living; and
WHEREAS, health care reform efforts are aimed at improving access and affordability of health care as well as transparency of cost and performance information and provider and consumer incentives for wise use of health care and engagement in wellness and prevention;
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORVALLIS RESOLVES that the City Council, in order to support access for all Americans especially the citizens of Corvallis like citizens of other developed nations to higher quality and effective health care urges the Oregon Congressional Delegation and the United States Congress to enact H.R. 676 or a modification thereof.
That the City Council urges the Oregon state legislature to enact H.B. 3510 or S.B. 888 or a modification thereof.
That the City Council hereby direct the Mayor to send a copy of this resolution to the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Oregon State University Barometer, radio and television stations and to our federal representatives and state representatives for their due consideration and enactment.