Authorizing the Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on recommendations of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell proposed legislation, "Prescription for Pennsylvania" and further authorizing the Committee to seek advice and recommendations to improve the availability and quality of affordable healthcare in Philadelphia from citizens, health experts, health policy experts, academia, businesses, employers, and state legislative and executive branch officials.

WHEREAS, In January of 2007 Governor Edward G. Rendell offered sweeping and bold legislation called “Prescription for Pennsylvania” to increase access to affordable healthcare coverage for all Pennsylvanians, improve the quality of care in the state and bring healthcare costs under control for employers and employees; and

WHEREAS, Section 5-300 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter requires that the City of Philadelphia through the Department of Health prepare a plan for universal healthcare that permits everyone on the City of Philadelphia to obtain decent health care; and

WHEREAS, This amendment to the home rule charter was voted on and approved by 75 % of the Philadelphia electorate in November, 2003; and

WHEREAS, The city of Philadelphia contains some of the most nationally and worldwide known medical institutions, providing the best and cutting edge medical science; and

WHEREAS, It is generally accepted that the optimal approach to quality and affordable health care would require a nationally universal coverage and this would require changes to the financing of healthcare at the national level and there have not been any real national initiatives that have materialized with the current administration; and

WHEREAS, Health spending and health insurance costs continue to grow at a rate significantly faster than wages and economic growth resulting in the vastly increasing numbers of uninsured and underinsured persons in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, The uninsured and underinsured in the city of Philadelphia face extremely limited choices in obtaining healthcare and have to resort to either the public health centers or hospital emergency rooms in order to obtain health care and lack of consistent and preventative care results in the wholly inefficient use of these resources; and

WHEREAS, The State of Pennsylvania is taking a leadership approach to this alarming trend by providing a mechanism to improve access to health care by lowering the costs of health insurance coverage; and

WHEREAS, The governor’s proposal calls for the creation of Covering All Pennsylvanians (CAP) a program which will offer affordable basic health coverage to small businesses and the uninsured through the private insurance market; and

WHEREAS, Uninsured adults making less than 300% of the poverty rate will pay between $10-$60 per month for full health insurance, including prescriptions under the CAP program and small business employers can offer their employees making less than the 300% of the poverty rate insurance coverage at a monthly rate between $10-$70 per month and a rate of $280 per month for employees making grater income; and

WHEREAS, The “Prescription for Pennsylvania” seems to be an excellent vehicle for the citizens of Philadelphia to access quality and affordable health care; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings on recommendations of Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell proposed legislation, “ Prescription for Pennsylvania” and further authorizing the Committee to seek advice and recommendations to improve the availability and quality of affordable healthcare in Philadelphia from citizens, health experts, health policy experts, academia, businesses, employers, and state legislative and executive branch officials.

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