2022 -- H 6646

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LC003539

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S 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: Representatives McGaw, Cassar, Kislak, Morales, Potter, Felix, Ajello,
Cortvriend, Henries, and Donovan

     Date Introduced: January 06, 2022

     Referred To: House Health & Human Services

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     WHEREAS, Health care is a human right, not a commodity available only to those who

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can afford it; and

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     WHEREAS, Although the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed states to offer

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more people taxpayer-subsidized private health insurance, the ACA has not provided universal,

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comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Rhode Islanders; and

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     WHEREAS, In 2019, about 4.3 percent of Rhode Islanders (43,000), had no health

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insurance, causing about 43 (1 per 1,000 uninsured) unnecessary deaths each year; and

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     WHEREAS, An estimated 45 percent of Rhode Islanders (450,000) are under-insured

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(e.g., not seeking health care because of high deductibles and co-pays); and

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     WHEREAS, COVID-19 exacerbated and highlighted problems with the status quo health

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insurance system including:

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     • Coverage is too easily lost when health insurance is tied to jobs - between February and

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May, 2020, about 21,000 more Rhode Islanders lost their jobs and their health insurance;

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     • Systemic racism is reinforced - Black and Hispanic/Latinx Rhode Islanders, more likely

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to be uninsured or underinsured, have suffered the highest rates of COVID-19 mortality and

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morbidity; and

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     • The fear of out-of-pocket costs for the uninsured and underinsured puts everyone at risk

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because they avoid testing and treatment; and

 

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     WHEREAS, The existing U.S. health insurance system has failed to control the cost of

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health care and to provide universal access to health care in a system which is widely accepted to

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waste 30 percent of its revenues on activities that do not improve the health of Americans; 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 and enjoys better health outcomes for less than two-thirds to

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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 Rhode Island patients, businesses and taxpayers already pay enough money to have

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comprehensive and universal health insurance under a single-payer system; and

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     WHEREAS, About one-third of every "health care" dollar spent in the U.S. is wasted on

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unnecessary administrative costs and excessive pharmaceutical company profits due to laws

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preventing Medicare from negotiating prices and private health insurance companies lacking

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adequate market share to effectively negotiate prices; and

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     WHEREAS, Private health insurance companies are incentivized to let the cost of health

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care rise because higher costs require health insurance companies to charge higher health

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insurance premiums, increasing companies’ revenue and stock price; and

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     WHEREAS, The health care marketplace is not an efficient market and because it

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represents only 18 percent of the U.S. domestic market, and significantly restricts economic

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growth, thus the financial well-being of every American, including every Rhode Islander; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Islanders cannot afford to keep the current multi-payer health

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insurance system:

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     • Between 1991 and 2014, health care spending in Rhode Island per person rose by over

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250 percent rising much faster than income and greatly reducing disposable income;

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     • It is estimated that by 2025, the cost of health insurance for an average family of four

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

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     • In the U.S., about two-thirds of personal bankruptcies are medical cost-related and of

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these, about three-fourths had health insurance at the onset of their medical problems - in no other

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industrialized country do people worry about going bankrupt over medical costs; 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 lose significant wages and pensions as

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

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island’s hospitals are under increasing financial distress – i.e.,

 

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closing, sold to out-of-state entities, attempting mergers – largely due to health insurance

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reimbursement problems that other nations do not face and are fixed by a single payer system;

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and

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     WHEREAS, The state and its municipalities face enormous other post-employment

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

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

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government could negotiate on behalf of all Americans for bulk purchasing, as well as gain

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access to usage and price information currently kept confidential by private health insurers as

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"proprietary information"; 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, Single payer would provide comprehensive coverage that would include

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vision, hearing and dental care, mental health and substance abuse services, as well as

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prescription medications, medical equipment, supplies, diagnostics and treatments; and

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     WHEREAS, Health care providers would spend significantly less time with

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administrative work caused by multiple health insurance company requirements and barriers to

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care delivery and would spend significantly less for overhead costs because of streamlined

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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 by providing universal affordable health care coverage and

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

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costs; and

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     WHEREAS, A Medicare for All single payer program would, based on the performance

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of existing Medicare, eliminate 50 percent of the administrative waste in the current system of

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private insurance before other savings achieved through meaningful negotiation of prices and

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other savings are considered; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

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

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single payer program and hereby respectfully urges Congress to pass such legislation as

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previously introduced in Congress (e.g., Senate Bill 1129 and House Bill 1384); 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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