HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021/05/11 Written Communications - Lopez Wr-[4k,O NMMU/I/(10 ows—
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Resolution in Support of CalCare (AB 1400)
and the Medicare for All Act of 2021 (H.R. 1976)
WHEREAS every person in Chula Vista deserves high-quality health
care; and
WHEREAS the number of Americans without health insurance before
the Covid-19 pandemic was still nearly 30 million, with more than 40 mil-
lion Americans underinsured, and the number of Californians without
health insurance was 2.7 million, with 12 million Californians underin-
sured, despite important gains made since the implementation of the Af-
fordable Care Act; and
WHEREAS the current Covid-19 pandemic has led to record levels of
unemployment, loss of employer-sponsored health insurance, a severely
strained health care system, widespread illness, and has taken a pro-
found toll on our community's mental health, all of which is placing signif-
icant demands on our health care system, and
WHEREAS the Covid-19 pandemic further exposed the dangers of our
fragmented, profit-driven health care system, which leads many Califor-
nians to delay seeking needed health care due to an inability to pay ,
leading to a sicker and poorer population in the long run; and
WHEREAS , such a population is significantly more likely to develop se-
rious illness if exposed to diseases like Covid-19 and will subsequently
face higher mortality rates; and
WHEREAS the ever-increasing costs of health care, which are further
elevated due to the pandemic, may challenge our already strapped state
and municipal budgets ; and
WHEREAS in order to equitably and effectively address the health care
burden of the Covid-19 crisis, we must urge the United States Congress
and the California legislature to provide comprehensive health care to
every resident of the United States and California, respectively, without
any cost-sharing.
WHEREAS the Medicare for All Act of 2021 (H.R. 1976) and the Califor-
nia Guaranteed Health Care for All (CalCare) Act (AB 1400) would guar-
antee health care free at the point of service for every person in the
United States and California, respectively, 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 and the California Guaran-
teed Health Care for All Act would provide coverage without copays, de-
ductibles, 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 the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act would es-
tablish state-wide comprehensive universal single-payer health care and
a health care cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the
state; and
WHEREAS the Medicare for All Act of 2021 and the California Guaran-
teed Health Care Act would both guarantee that all residents of Chula
Vista 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 Chula Vista would 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 recent polls show that a majority of Americans and Californi-
ans support Medicare for All; and
WHEREAS the present administration has the policy to empower states,
as laboratories of democracy, to use Affordable Care Act innovation
waivers to develop locally tailored approaches to health coverage, in-
cluding by removing barriers to states that seek to experiment with
statewide universal health care approaches;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Chula Vista City Coun-
cil enthusiastically supports the Medicare for All Act of 2021 (H.R. 1976)
and calls on our federal legislators to work toward its immediate enact-
ment, assuring health care for all residents of the United States.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chula Vista City Council ex-
presses its enthusiastic support for the California Guaranteed Health
Care for All Act (AB 1400) and calls upon our state legislators to work
toward its immediate enactment.