2021 -- S 0109

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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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 Calkin, Mendes, Anderson, Mack, Bell, and Quezada

     Date Introduced: January 26, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services

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

can afford it; and

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

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

comprehensive, affordable coverage for all Rhode Islanders; and

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

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

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

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

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

insurance system including:

     (1) Coverage is too easily lost when health insurance is tied to jobs - between February

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

     (2) Systemic racism is reinforced - Black and Hispanic/Latinx Rhode Islanders, more

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

and morbidity; and

     (3) The fear of out-of-pocket costs for the uninsured and underinsured puts everyone at

risk because they avoid testing and treatment; and

     WHEREAS, The existing US health insurance system has failed to control the cost of

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

waste 30 percent of its revenues on activities that do not improve the health of Americans; and

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

universal health care to its citizens and enjoys better health outcomes for less than two-thirds to

one-half the cost; and

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

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

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

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

unnecessary administrative costs and excessive pharmaceutical company profits due to laws

preventing Medicare from negotiating prices and private health insurance companies lacking

adequate market share to effectively negotiate prices; and

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

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

insurance premiums, increasing companies’ revenues and stock prices; and

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

represents only 18 percent of the US domestic market, significantly restricts economic growth

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

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

insurance system:

     (1) Between 1991 and 2014, health care spending in Rhode Island per person rose by

over two hundred fifty percent rising much faster than income and greatly reducing disposable

income;

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

will equal about one-half of their annual income;

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

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

industrialized country do people worry about going bankrupt over medical costs; and

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

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

increasingly expensive plans which do not provide comprehensive coverage; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island employees and retirees lose significant wages and pensions as

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.,

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

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

and

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

benefits (OPEB) unfunded liabilities due mostly to health insurance costs and could be largely

eliminated by a Medicare for All single-payer program; and

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

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

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

information"; and

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

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

able to see which doctors and setting reimbursement rates; and

     WHEREAS, Single-payer would provide comprehensive coverage that would include

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

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

     WHEREAS, Health care providers would spend significantly less time with

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

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

billing; and

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

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

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

health care costs; and

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

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

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

other savings are considered; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby recognizes the need

for the United States government to implement an improved Medicare for All single-payer

program and hereby respectfully urges Congress to pass such legislation as previously introduced

in Congress (e.g., Senate Bill 1129 and House Bill 1384); and be it further

     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

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

Congressional Delegation.

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