At its meeting on March 9, 2010, the Cheeks precinct adopted the following:
Resolution in Support of National Health Care Reform
Whereas, the December 2009 study, Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults, found that 19.6% of North Carolina residents, or an estimated 1,839,000 people, do not have health insurance (1); and,
Whereas, this lack of full health insurance coverage results in the needless death, each year, of 1,461 North Carolinians, from lack of medical treatment and preventive care (2); and,
Whereas, the cost of treating the acute problems of uninsured people in emergency conditions must be borne by all citizens, indirectly accounting for about $1 of every $12 insured US residents spend on health insurance premiums (3); and,
Whereas, the cost of treating the acute problems of uninsured people in emergency conditions could be significantly reduced if there were universal health insurance coverage making preventive medical care more widely available; and,
Whereas, Health insurance premiums for North Carolina working families increased 75 percent from 2000 to 2007 (4); and
Whereas, health insurance premiums in the first few months of 2010 have reportedly been increased in some cases by 30 percent or more (5); and
Whereas, the single largest contributing factor to these recent increases in health insurance premiums has been administrative costs (6),
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that we call upon our elected representatives in the Congress to support and work for immediate passage of the health care reform legislation now before Congress, including the reconciliation measures being considered in the Senate; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the health care reform legislation before Congress should include an immediate moratorium on any further increases in health insurance premiums; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that our elected representatives in the Congress and in state office should study and report back to the citizens ways and means by which the health insurance industry can be reformed to operate more along the lines of auto insurance, which has achieved near universal coverage and which does not appear to be suffering from run-away increases in administrative costs; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State of North Carolina should immediately demand full public disclosure of the financial position and administrative costs structure of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, which holds 53 percent of our state’s commercial market; and UnitedHealth Group Inc., which holds 20 percent of our state’s commercial market (7).
REFERENCES
(1) http://pnhp.org/excessdeaths/
(2) http://pnhp.org/excessdeaths/
(3) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/26052.php
(4) http://hcfan.3cdn.net/f77d4cc8d9baa8a754_ikm6bxzqj.pdf
(5) http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6753900/article-Some-customers-...
(6) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870331500457507301372178405...
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