RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION URGING IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF COMPREHENSIVE FEDERAL HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

 

WHEREAS, experts from across the political spectrum agree that America’s heath system is “broken” and unsustainable in its present configuration; and

 

WHEREAS, families in San Mateo County are experiencing this crisis right now, confronting the high cost of health care that threatens their financial stability, leaves them exposed to higher premiums and deductibles, and puts them at risk for a possible loss of health insurance; and

 

WHEREAS, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled in recent years making it increasingly difficult for employers, including county governments, to provide health insurance coverage for their employees and retirees; and

 

WHEREAS, millions of Americans do no have health coverage, or have inadequate coverage and as our economic challenges multiply, the problem of health care access grows, further straining counties’ capacity to provide care for the uninsured, underinsured and medically indigent; and

 

WHEREAS, 60,000 – 80,000 adults in San Mateo County are uninsured with nearly half of uninsured adults in San Mateo County report having no usual source of medical care; and

 

WHEREAS, county officials are elected and county health officials are appointed to protect the health and welfare of their constituents; and

 

WHEREAS, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Adult Health Care Coverage Expansion Planning Phase Recommendations in May 2008 as a step in addressing local coverage issues;; and

 

WHEREAS, San Mateo County provides health care services requiring a local contribution of nearly one-hundred and twenty million dollars; and

 

WHEREAS, the National Association of Counties (NACO) Health System Reform Working Group, appointed by President Don Stapley in July 2008 and chaired by President-Elect Valerie Brown, has held three regional hearings to explore the health crisis and to hear what county officials believe should be done about it and has summarized its findings in Restoring the Partnership for American Health: Counties in a 21st Century Health System which was approved and adopted by resolution of the NACO Health Steering Committee and Board of Directors on March 9, 2009.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County endorses NACO’s health reform principles, as summarized in Restoring the Partnership for American Health: Counties in a 21st Century Health System; namely, that reform legislation should:

    1. restore the partnership between county and federal governments;

    2. provide access to affordable, quality health care to all;

    3. invest in public health, including health promotion and disease and injury prevention both to prevent illnesses and injuries and to reduce the cost of health care for these injuries and illnesses;

    4. stabilize and strengthen the local health care safety net system, especially Medicaid and disproportional share hospital (DSH) payments;

    5. invest in the development of health professional and paraprofessional workforce;

    6. ensure that county health agencies have the resources to meaningfully use health information technology;

    7. enable elderly and disabled persons to receive the services they need in the least restrictive environment; and

    8. reform the delivery and financing of health services in the jail system.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board strongly urges the 111th Congress of the United States to enact comprehensive health reform legislation without delay before the end of its first session.

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