Resolution on Health Care of the Democratic Party of Union County (DPUC) (essentially an agreement to join Health Care for All--Oregon)
Whereas
1. There are many components that contribute to good health, including the ability to respond to sickness, disease and injury;
2. Achieving the goal of living a healthy life is impossible without the ability to access health care;
3. Health care should be available to everyone;
4. The lack of available health care is a barrier to opportunity, success and quality of life;
5. Oregonians should not be divided between those who can afford to be healthy and those who cannot;
6. Oregonians should not be divided between those who have hopes and dreams and those whose sickness, disease or injury robs them of their hopes and dreams;
7. The cost of health care is the primary cause of personal bankruptcies, even though the majority were insured when their health crises occurred;
8. The inclusion of health insurance in employer overhead makes Oregon (and U.S.) industry non-competitive with industry in most other industrialized nations where the cost of health care does not have to be added directly to the cost of production;
9. Comprehensive single payer health care for everyone living in Oregon is estimated to cost no more than our current costs for incomplete and inadequate coverage, and to cost much less than the current system in the future;
10. Private insurance markets are inherently ineffective, inequitable, excessively bureaucratic and wasteful as means to assure universal access to health care;
11. Health care coverage should be treated as public good, provided equitably in a universal risk pool, comparable to public schools, public safety and public utilities;
And whereas
13. Among the highest priority legislative action items from the Democratic Party of Oregon 2012 platform convention is "Recognize in the Constitution that health care is a fundamental human right, and adopt a comprehensive single payer health care system that provides all Oregonians with basic health care that includes medical, dental, vision, mental health care, addiction treatment and preventative care by licensed providers";
14. There is a statewide coalition (Health Care for All--Oregon, or HCAO) of some 60 organizations that has formed to establish the principle that health care is a human right, and to create a comprehensive single payer health care system to secure that right, in Oregon, and ultimately in the United States;
Therefore Be It Resolved that the Democratic Party of Union County will apply for membership in the HCAO coalition, and in our membership agreement we will agree to:
1. Contribute a membership fee of $50 and encourage our members to contribute financially to HCAO;
2. Advertise relevant HCAO events on our calendar and through emails to DPUC members;
3. Encourage DPUC canvassers to bring up health care as a human right when it is appropriate during an election season;
4. Help HCAO canvassers in using the Voter Activation Network (VAN) in compliance with our user agreement;
5. Help with signature gathering for an initiative petition if the coalition decides this is useful;
6. Work with other local coalition organizations on public events that educate about or promote health care as a human right or comprehensive single payer health care in Oregon.
Therefore Be It Further Resolved that
1. The Democratic Party of Union County urges the Democratic Party of Oregon and other local democratic organizations to join the HCAO coalition.
2. A copy of this resolution will be sent to the Chair, the Secretary, and the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Oregon, and to the Chairs of all of the DPUC's sister DPO county organizations.
Approved by the Democratic Party of Union County ___________________________(date)
(signed) ____________________________________
Chair, Democratic Party of Union County