WHEREAS, health insurance premiums and overall health care spending in Washington State have risen dramatically in recent years, without corresponding improvements in access and quality; average premiums are expected to rise 15% in 2003 alone; and

WHEREAS, tens of thousands of Washington's working families have lost health insurance due to layoff or job loss; and

WHEREAS, the number of uninsured Washingtonians is therefore rising: in 2000, 15.4% of Washingtonians under 65 had no insurance, (CPS US Census Bureau); and

WHEREAS, in 2003 our elected officials made deep cuts in Washington's insurance programs for low wage working families (Basic Health) and for low income seniors and people with disabilities (Medicaid), program cuts which will eliminate health insurance coverage for nearly 100,000 Washingtonians and further reduce access through prohibitive fees for thousands more; and

WHEREAS, costs of health care for the uninsured are shifted to hospitals, through increased emergency room visits and uncompensated care, and to insured Washingtonians through increased premiums to cover medical costs of those lacking coverage for cost effective, preventative care; and

WHEREAS, employers including the State of Washington are shifting the costs of health care to workers and their families through higher premium shares, deductibles and co-pays, and eliminating dependent coverage; and

WHEREAS, states have always been policy innovators and laboratories of reform, and in that vein Washington has led the nation in efforts to increase access, control costs and improve quality; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the Washington State Labor Council and its affiliates at this convention go on record supporting efforts to pass legislation that will move us toward achieving the goals of building a health care system for our state which will provide for all Washingtonians, high quality, accessible, affordable health care services; and be it further

RESOLVED, by the Washington State Labor Council that all candidates seeking labor's endorsement for office will be asked in their candidate questionnaire to state their proposal for addressing the health care crisis in our state and nation; and, be it finally

RESOLVED, by the Washington State Labor Council that no candidate for Governor will be endorsed by this body who does not publicly commit to making solutions to the health care crisis a cornerstone of the platform on which they run for office.

Sample Resolution 2
From Burlington, Vermont City Council
http://www.vthca.org/newsarticles/020204citycouncil.htm

Burlington, Vermont City Council
Resolution on universal health care
(Passed unanimously, February 2, 2004)

WHEREAS, despite Vermont's efforts to broaden the availability and affordability of health care, there remains a severe and continuing health care crisis in Vermont; and

WHEREAS, almost 62,000 Vermonters do not have health insurance; 1 and

WHEREAS, approximately 8,500 Vermont businesses do not provide health insurance to their workers 2 and many employers have reduced coverage and / or increased the employee's contribution for premiums and co-pays; and

WHEREAS, Vermonters who are self-employed or employees of small business are in especially dire need of reliable and affordable health care coverage, and

WHEREAS, health care spending on Vermont residents totaled $2.6 billion in 2001 (14% of Gross State Product), an 11.5% increase from 2000; 3 and

WHEREAS, health care expenditures in Vermont have increased over 90% in the last nine years, 4 while inflation was only 23% during the same period. 5

WHEREAS, it is evident that state efforts to address health care accessibility and affordability have not solved the problem and that we can no longer afford to tinker at the margins of a system that has proven incapable of meeting our needs.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Burlington City Council calls upon the General Assembly to develop and adopt legislation in 2004 for an effective and universal system of health care to alleviate the crisis now confronting Vermonters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the goals of a comprehensive health care program must include:
· continued high quality care;
· cost containment;
· universal coverage;
· equitable long-term financing mechanisms;
· free choice of providers;
· uniform reimbursement; and
· transparent and effective accountability measures; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council requests that this resolution be distributed to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, President Pro-Tem of the Senate, Burlington's state legislative delegation, and Vermont's congressional delegation.

Footnotes:
1. 2002 Health Insurance Coverage Profile, Vermont BISHCA.
2. DET 2001 Fringe Benefit Survey and the DET 2002 employer size / class tables.
3. Op cit., BISHCA.
4. Op cit., BISHCA.
5. CPI-U, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor.

Sample Resolution 3

Resolution Supporting the Creation
of a Universal Health Care System

WHEREAS, the voters of the Town of Sebago vote at the June 1, 2002 town meeting to support the creation of a Universal Health Care system;

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has enacted a planning statute to examine the means for implementing a single payer health care system;

WHEREAS, the prescription drug reforms already enacted by the State of Maine are under legal action by the pharmaceutical companies;

WHEREAS, in Maine, the non-profit model of health insurance is quickly disappearing;

WHEREAS, we know that other developed countries, including our neighbor Canada, face less than half our costs for health care, live longer lives, and have a lower infant mortality rate;

WHEREAS, in Maine, there are residents who are uninsured or inadequately insured, including Medicare benefits, who lack access to prescription drug coverage and long term care coverage;

WHEREAS, the lack of a system of universal health care results in increased illness, and health care costs increase the financial insecurity of working families and small businesses:

NOW BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that it is the policy of the Town of Sebago that health care is an essential safeguard of human life and dignity and that there is an obligation for society to ensure that every person has the ability to realize that right; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a system of universal health care would provide all residents with comprehensive health care coverage; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town shall take all appropriate steps to encourage establishment of such a system by the state and federal governments; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Town of Sebago shall forthwith transmit a copy of this RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF A UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM and a certified copy of the results of the vote to the Clerk of the Maine House of Representatives, as a submission of a petition of the citizens of Sebago, Maine, to the Maine Legislature.

Adopted this 1st day of June, 2002
Attest: S/Michele A. Bukoveckas, Town Clerk

Sample Resolution 4
From: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO http://www.afscme.org/about/resolute/2000/r34-014.htm

UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

WHEREAS:
The number of uninsured persons in the United States has risen to over 44 million per year (16.3% of the population), and the availability of employer health coverage shows no signs of increasing, despite a period of sustained economic growth and government surpluses; and

WHEREAS:
Even though most insured Americans are enrolled in managed care plans, employer health care costs are expected to rise an average of 10 percent in 2000, with 70 percent of employers planning to pass some of the cost increases on to employees; and

WHEREAS:
More employers are taking actions to control the cost of retiree health insurance, including capping the maximum amount they contribute to a retiree's health plan; and

WHEREAS:
Prescription drug costs increased an average of 16 percent in 1999, are projected to increase 18-20 percent in 2000, and are expected to triple during the next decade; and

WHEREAS:
Working full time is no guarantee of health care coverage. A significant portion of workers, especially low-wage workers, minorities, and those employed by smaller firms, do not have access to employer-provided health insurance. According to 1999 U.S. Census data, more than 55 percent of the uninsured are working adults and only 18 percent are unemployed. Among adults, 19 million or 17 percent of all full-time workers and 5.4 million or 23 percent of part-time workers were uninsured; and

WHEREAS:
Employer-provided health insurance is not a guarantee of access to health care. A 1999 national survey found that more than half of adults earning less than $20,000, who had employer-based health insurance, reported they lacked access to needed health care due to the cost or had difficulty paying medical bills; and almost 40 percent of Americans who reside in nonmetropolitan areas face a shortage of primary care physicians; and

WHEREAS:
The uncoupling of the welfare and Medicaid programs in the 1996 federal welfare reform law has led to a significant decline in the number of eligible children and parents enrolled in Medicaid, with 25 percent of children in families that left welfare ending up uninsured.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME support expansion of public health care programs, including Medicaid, CHIP (the Children's Health Insurance Program), and Medicare to cover more of the uninsured; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME encourage Councils and affiliates to participate in efforts to educate and enroll members who are low-wage workers and their families into public health insurance programs for which they are eligible; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will advocate for appropriate universal health care initiatives in the states; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME work to elect candidates who pledge to expand health insurance coverage and make health insurance more affordable to all Americans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME and its affiliates engage in coalition building with all unions, labor organizations, healthcare providers, religious and community organizations that are committed to and are pursuing the aim of achieving a national just health care program for all; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME continue to work for the eventual creation of a National Health Care System which will provide quality affordable health care to every person as a fundamental right.