California Democratic Platform Resolution on "Medicare for All /single payer" health care

[This resolution may be useful to consult in your interactions with California Democratic Legislators, including Sen Barbara Boxer and Congresswoman Davis]

Health Care Reform SAC 09.29

WHEREAS, access to quality health care is essential for the good health and productivity of every American citizen and qualifies as a human right, not a privilege; and

WHEREAS, the steadily increasing cost of accessing health care is causing financial individual hardships, bankruptcy, and mortgage foreclosures, causing business to be uncompetitive in the world market and making it difficult to decrease the national deficit; and while the U.S. spends more than any other industrialized country for health care, the U.S. has demonstrably inferior outcomes, even for the insured; and

WHEREAS, the current commercial market model mediated by private health insurance corporations must function to create profits for the companies, their administrators and shareholders, creating an unavoidable conflict-of-interest between promoting quality health care and maximizing their profits and currently diverts up to 25% of the insurance premium dollar from medical services and leaves 46 million people uninsured;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party supports the establishment of a universal, single-payer, national health care system in the United States; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that such a system be publicly financed and privately delivered with automatic enrollment of all residents (regardless of age, status of employment, pre-existing condition, or income level) allowing people to choose from any licensed health care provider, providing all appropriate medical services including preventive education, dental care, mental health care, long-term in-home care, and affordable prescription medications.

Authored by: Margaret Budd, Dr. Michael McQuary, Mike Copass, Jerry Malamud, Ethan James Soutar-Rau, Anita Simons, Jeoffrey B. Gordon, MD MPH, and the La Jolla Democratic Club’s Focus For Change Health Care Issue Group;Co-Sponsored by Los Angeles County Democratic Party; (Partial List)

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Adopted by the Democratic State Central Committee of California AKA "California Democratic Party" at its Annual State ConventionSacramento Convention Center April 26, 2009