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.

SUBMITTED BY:

Henry Nicholas, President and Delegate
NUHHCE/AFSCME Local 1199
Pennsylvania

Kathy Sackman, Secretary-Treasurer 
NUHHCE/AFSCME Local 1199
California

Mary Lou Millar, President
CHCA/NUHHCE/AFSCME 1199

Barbara Simonetta, Secretary-Treasurer
CHCA/NUHHCE/AFSCME 1199
Connecticut

Brenda Stokely, President and Delegate
AFSCME Local 215, District Council 1707
New York