86R13432 BPG-D
By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 80
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The United States remains the only developed country
without universal health care, and while it spends more on health
care than other advanced nations, it ranks lowest in life
expectancy and performs poorly on a variety of health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, By 2017, the U.S. was spending about $3.24 trillion
annually on personal health care, representing 17.2 percent of
Gross Domestic Product, despite the fact that 9 percent of U.S.
residents have no health insurance and 26 percent are underinsured
and cannot afford the prohibitively high costs of the care they
need; on average, other high-income countries spend about 40
percent less per person than the U.S. while achieving better health
outcomes; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. has the world's most bureaucratic health
care system; more than 31 percent of every health care dollar is
spent on paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, corporate profits, and
the like, and because we have more than 1,500 different insurance
plans, our insurance system is extremely complex, fragmented,
dysfunctional, and expensive; hospitals and other health care
providers waste countless hours dealing with insurance claims
departments, a chore that costs the average physician almost
$100,000 per year, according to a recent study; meanwhile, business
owners struggle to afford health insurance for their employees,
workers pay higher premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, and 80
million people lack adequate health insurance, leaving some
seriously ill patients and their families to beg for help on social
media fund-raising platforms; and
WHEREAS, Single-payer health care, often referred to in the
U.S. as Medicare for All, is designed to significantly improve
health care outcomes while establishing effective cost controls
throughout the health care system; all residents would receive
quality health care as a basic right, from the providers of their
choice, through an insurance system that covers everyone in a
manner comparable to the existing Medicare program for residents 65
years and older; coverage would include all medically necessary
services, including doctor visits, hospitalization, mental health,
long-term care, prescription drugs, dental, vision, and more,
without the need for co-pays or deductibles; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 30 independent economic analyses have found
that a single-payer system would lower costs; in 2018, a
comprehensive report by the Political Economy Research Institute at
the University of Massachusetts Amherst calculated that Medicare
for All would reduce total health care spending in the U.S. by
nearly 19 percent, relative to the existing system; the most
significant cost savings would occur in the areas of administration
and pharmaceutical pricing, as well as through the establishment of
uniform Medicare rates for hospitals, physicians, and clinics;
additional savings, at least in the initial years, would accrue by
reining in the high levels of waste and fraud that currently prevail
in service provision; and
WHEREAS, Absent systemic change, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services projects that U.S. health consumption
expenditures will soar to 18.8 percent of GDP by 2026; the
implementation of Medicare for All is projected to reduce the
percentage from 17.2 to 15.8 percent, even after accounting for the
rising cost pressures due to an aging population; moreover, broader
macroeconomic benefits would include improved health outcomes that
raise productivity, promote greater income equality, and increase
job creation, especially by lowering operating costs for small and
medium-sized businesses; and
WHEREAS, Our current health care system is failing millions
of Americans, but Medicare for All can deliver vastly less
expensive care to everyone in a far more fair and efficient manner;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact
legislation establishing a single-payer health care system; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.