FAILED - R4: Resolution Urging Support for the Health Care for All Ohioans Act

Resolutions

Resolved, that the Diocese of Ohio, gathered in this 192nd diocesan convention, join the Diocese of Southern Ohio in declaring its support for the Health Care for All Ohioans Act, SB 168 & HB 186.

Resolved, that all Ohio Episcopalians be encouraged to contact the Governor and their Ohio House and Senate members to ask them to support passage of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act.

Resolved, that the Secretary of this Convention send copies of this resolution to the Governor of Ohio and to all members of the Ohio Legislature.

Rationale

There is a crisis in health care in this land. We have the most expensive health care system in the world while the World Health Organization ranks us 37th in the world based on our outcomes. In Ohio more than 1.3 million citizens (1 of every 9 people) are currently without health insurance. According to the Institute of Medicine, two Ohioans die every day from treatable illnesses, and thousands more suffer and live with impairments from untreated diseases, injuries, and lack of prenatal health care. Prior to the current home loan crisis, it was estimated that medical bills contributed to one-half of all bankruptcies. And the rapidly rising cost of health insurance is an increasing burdens on our congregations, diverting money from mission and ministry.

Highlights of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act

Issued by the Single-Payer Action Network Ohio (SPAN Ohio)

1. The Health Care for All Ohioans Act, referred to here as “the Plan,” provides coverage for the full range of inpatient and outpatient hospital care, preventive care, mental health, vision, hearing, prescription drugs, dental, emergency services, rehabilitation services, hospice care, home care, health maintenance care, medical supplies, and all other necessary medical services as determined by any state licensed, certified, or registered health care practitioner. It provides timely emergency health care services in each county, including hospital care and triage, and necessary transportation in each county to access covered health care services.
2. Coverage will be provided regardless of income or employment status and there will be no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
3. There will be no premiums, copayments or deductibles.
4. Patients will have free choice of health care providers and hospitals. People who today lack coverage will be able to see doctors and other providers when needed, and will benefit from preventive care and early intervention.
5. Payments to health care providers for all covered services will be made from a single public fund, called the Ohio Health Care Fund. The Plan will be funded by payroll taxes paid by employers not to exceed 3.85%; a gross receipts tax on businesses not to exceed 3%; income tax increases limited ONLY to those earning more than the Social Security tax cap, which in 2007 was $97,500 annually; a 5% surtax on adjusted gross income over $200,000; $11.6 billion in administrative cost savings; and funds from government sources.
6. Since health care bills will be paid from a single public fund, insurance companies will no longer have a role in the system and the billions of dollars in profits they take from it will go instead for patient care.
7. Workers under collective bargaining agreements will enjoy the same benefits as everyone else. If benefits under these agreements are less than what the Plan provides, employers must pay the cost of increasing benefits to the level of the Plan, with the employers paying all the premiums, copayments, and deductibles; or the employer and the union may renegotiate and begin coverage under the Plan immediately. The Plan will automatically cover workers when their collective bargaining agreements expire.
8. Public employers — on a state, county, school district and municipal level — will pay much less for employees’ health care coverage than they do today, since their payroll tax for health care will not exceed 3.85% of the total payroll. Public employers would not pay a gross receipts tax. Most private employers, who today provide benefits, will also save because the combination of the payroll tax and the gross receipts tax will be less than many of these employers pay today for employee health care.
9. Workers employed by health insurance companies and others who lose jobs as a result of the changes brought about by the Health Care For All Ohioans Act will receive, at public expense, retraining and financial assistance for up to two years in an amount not to exceed $60,000 per year. Many of these workers will be able to find employment in the public sector implementing the new Plan.
10. There will be a marked reduction in physicians’ costs for billing since payment for services rendered will come from one public fund, not from hundreds of private insurers. Payment will be guaranteed from that public fund. Malpractice insurance will also be less expensive since medical bills will no longer be part of jury awards.

This resolution promotes our commitment to the baptismal vows to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself,” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” This resolution also addresses four of the eight Millennium Development Goals: reduction of poverty, promoting child health, promoting maternal health, and treating/preventing HIV/AIDS. Adoption of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act would promote better stewardship by reducing the costs of health care and thereby expanding the number of resources available to both individual Christians and the Church for mission and ministry.

The Diocese of Southern Ohio is considering the same resolution at their convention on November 7 and 8. If both Dioceses pass a similar resolution, Episcopalians throughout the state will be making their voices heard on behalf of a more rational and cost-effective approach to health care. If the state legislature passes the Health Care for All Ohioans Act, there will be a substantial reduction in health care cost for the Diocese of Ohio and our congregations. Congregations are already having to choose between paying building utilities and paying for health insurance for clergy and lay staff members— and they would not need to make those choices under the new plan. As an example, a church that is now spending $30,729 for clergy and staff health insurance would be spending $7,222 if the Health Care for All Ohioans Act passed. Adoption of the Health Care for All Ohioans Act would allow the use of far more resources for diocesan and congregational ministry and program.