Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR80 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R13432 BPG-D
2	2	By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 80
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5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The United States remains the only developed country
7	7	without universal health care, and while it spends more on health
8	8	care than other advanced nations, it ranks lowest in life
9	9	expectancy and performs poorly on a variety of health outcomes; and
10	10	WHEREAS, By 2017, the U.S. was spending about $3.24 trillion
11	11	annually on personal health care, representing 17.2 percent of
12	12	Gross Domestic Product, despite the fact that 9 percent of U.S.
13	13	residents have no health insurance and 26 percent are underinsured
14	14	and cannot afford the prohibitively high costs of the care they
15	15	need; on average, other high-income countries spend about 40
16	16	percent less per person than the U.S. while achieving better health
17	17	outcomes; and
18	18	WHEREAS, The U.S. has the world's most bureaucratic health
19	19	care system; more than 31 percent of every health care dollar is
20	20	spent on paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, corporate profits, and
21	21	the like, and because we have more than 1,500 different insurance
22	22	plans, our insurance system is extremely complex, fragmented,
23	23	dysfunctional, and expensive; hospitals and other health care
24	24	providers waste countless hours dealing with insurance claims
25	25	departments, a chore that costs the average physician almost
26	26	$100,000 per year, according to a recent study; meanwhile, business
27	27	owners struggle to afford health insurance for their employees,
28	28	workers pay higher premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, and 80
29	29	million people lack adequate health insurance, leaving some
30	30	seriously ill patients and their families to beg for help on social
31	31	media fund-raising platforms; and
32	32	WHEREAS, Single-payer health care, often referred to in the
33	33	U.S. as Medicare for All, is designed to significantly improve
34	34	health care outcomes while establishing effective cost controls
35	35	throughout the health care system; all residents would receive
36	36	quality health care as a basic right, from the providers of their
37	37	choice, through an insurance system that covers everyone in a
38	38	manner comparable to the existing Medicare program for residents 65
39	39	years and older; coverage would include all medically necessary
40	40	services, including doctor visits, hospitalization, mental health,
41	41	long-term care, prescription drugs, dental, vision, and more,
42	42	without the need for co-pays or deductibles; and
43	43	WHEREAS, Nearly 30 independent economic analyses have found
44	44	that a single-payer system would lower costs; in 2018, a
45	45	comprehensive report by the Political Economy Research Institute at
46	46	the University of Massachusetts Amherst calculated that Medicare
47	47	for All would reduce total health care spending in the U.S. by
48	48	nearly 19 percent, relative to the existing system; the most
49	49	significant cost savings would occur in the areas of administration
50	50	and pharmaceutical pricing, as well as through the establishment of
51	51	uniform Medicare rates for hospitals, physicians, and clinics;
52	52	additional savings, at least in the initial years, would accrue by
53	53	reining in the high levels of waste and fraud that currently prevail
54	54	in service provision; and
55	55	WHEREAS, Absent systemic change, the Centers for Medicare and
56	56	Medicaid Services projects that U.S. health consumption
57	57	expenditures will soar to 18.8 percent of GDP by 2026; the
58	58	implementation of Medicare for All is projected to reduce the
59	59	percentage from 17.2 to 15.8 percent, even after accounting for the
60	60	rising cost pressures due to an aging population; moreover, broader
61	61	macroeconomic benefits would include improved health outcomes that
62	62	raise productivity, promote greater income equality, and increase
63	63	job creation, especially by lowering operating costs for small and
64	64	medium-sized businesses; and
65	65	WHEREAS, Our current health care system is failing millions
66	66	of Americans, but Medicare for All can deliver vastly less
67	67	expensive care to everyone in a far more fair and efficient manner;
68	68	now, therefore, be it
69	69	RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
70	70	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact
71	71	legislation establishing a single-payer health care system; and, be
72	72	it further
73	73	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
74	74	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
75	75	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
76	76	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
77	77	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
78	78	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
79	79	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.