Endorsing the Pennsylvania Balanced and Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2005.

WHEREAS, It is in the public interest to guarantee every resident timely access to health care, to assure a high quality of health services with adequate and stable reimbursement for health care providers, and to apportion rationally the costs of care; and

WHEREAS, A commitment to age-appropriate health awareness, physical education, and first responder emergency training for children through primary and secondary schools will enhance the ability of our citizens to manage their health and the health and safety of their families and communities; and

WHEREAS, Current availability of and funding for substance abuse counseling and treatment is inadequate to the need resulting in lost productivity, domestic violence, vehicular and workplace accidents, and crime; and

WHEREAS, Health care costs are a leading cause of personal bankruptcy and the use of credit cards as a last means of funding care for an individual or their loved ones only adds to the cost of such care through higher interest rates associated with unsecured revolving credit; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania spends significantly more per capita on health care than many other states, putting our state and our businesses at a competitive disadvantage to other states and to all the foreign countries where governments provide universal health care; and

WHEREAS, Unstable and unaffordable rate increases for health insurance are causing significant economic hardship for Pennsylvania residents and their employers; and

WHEREAS, The ever increasing cost of prescription drugs is depriving our citizens of medications that save lives and prevent costly illness yet there currently exists no means where by our Commonwealth can leverage the purchasing power of its twelve million citizens to bargain for the same discounts enjoyed by nations of even smaller populations; and

WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Health Care Solutions Coalition has developed the “Pennsylvania Balanced and Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2005”which they have submitted to the Legislature of the Commonwealth to help with the growing health care crisis and its detrimental effect upon our citizens and economy; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the City Council of the City of Philadelphia endorses the Pennsylvania Balanced and Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2005 and urges the General Assembly and the Governor to consider the proposed legislation as a starting point for health care reform in Pennsylvania.

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