Title
Medicare for All - For the purpose of expressing support for Medicare for All, including expansion of the Medicare for All Act of 2021, H.R. 1976, 117th Cong. (2021-2022); supporting comprehensive healthcare to all U.S. residents; and expressing support for the establishment of a Maryland Commission on Universal Health Care.
Body
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
City of Annapolis
Resolution 21-21
Introduced by: Alderman Savidge
Co-sponsored by: Alderman Gay, Alderwoman Pindell Charles,
Alderwoman Finlayson
A RESOLUTION concerning
Medicare for All
FOR the purpose of expressing support for Medicare for All, including expansion of the Medicare for All Act of 2021, H.R. 1976, 117th Cong. (2021-2022); supporting comprehensive healthcare to all U.S. residents; and expressing support for the establishment of a Maryland Commission on Universal Health Care.
WHEREAS, the number of Americans without health insurance is still nearly 30 million, while more than 40 million Americans remain underinsured, despite important gains made since the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010; and
WHEREAS, every person in Annapolis deserves high quality health care; and
WHEREAS, the never-ending rising costs of health care add challenges to our already strapped municipal budget and our small businesses, which keep our communities thriving; and
WHEREAS, the Medicare for All Act of 2021 would provide national health insurance for every person in the United States for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs; hospital, surgical and outpatient services; primary and preventive care; emergency services; reproductive care; dental and vision care; and long-term care; and
WHEREAS, the Medicare for All Act of 2021 would provide coverage without copays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs, and would slash bureaucracy, protect the doctor-patient relationship and assure patients a free choice of doctors; and
WHEREAS, recent polls show that a majority of Americans support Medicare-for-All; and
WHEREAS, the Medicare for All Act of 2021 will guarantee that all residents of Annapolis will be fully covered for health care without copays, deductibles or other out-of-pocket costs, and would save millions in taxpayer dollars now spent on premiums that provide often inadequate health insurance coverage for government employees; and
WHEREAS, the quality of life for the residents of Annapolis will vastly improve because they would be able to get the ongoing care they need, instead of waiting until they have a medical emergency that could upend their lives as well as further burden local resources; and
WHEREAS, rationing health care according to ability to pay has diminished the overall health of our citizens to the point that the United States ranks last among industrialized nations in health outcomes and as many as 30,000 people in the United States die each year due to inadequate health care; and
WHEREAS, numerous academic studies have concluded that the administrative savings under a single-payer, Medicare for All system would be enough to cover the currently uninsured and improve coverage for all those who now have only partial coverage; and
WHEREAS, the failure to provide affordable and appropriate preventative health care services places unnecessary and more costly demands upon City of Annapolis emergency health care services.
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the City of Annapolis expresses its support for Medicare for All, including expansion of the Medicare for All Act of 2021, H.R. 1976, 117th Cong. (2021-2022), a Federal bill that seeks to guarantee comprehensive healthcare to all U.S. residents and calls upon our Congressional delegation to work towards its enactment.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the City of Annapolis supports establishing a Maryland Commission on Universal Health Care and calls upon our State legislators to pass such a Bill in its next legislative session.
EXPLANATION
Underlining indicates matter added.
[Strikethrough] indicates matter stricken.