[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 25 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 25

 Expressing the sense of the Congress that access to basic health care 
                 services is a fundamental human right.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 26, 1993

  Mr. Pastor submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Congress that access to basic health care 
                 services is a fundamental human right.

Whereas the assurance of adequate health care is essential to the general 
        welfare and to the Nation's security, strength, productivity, wealth, 
        and social order;
Whereas approximately 35,000,000 Americans have no insurance coverage for health 
        care services, an additional 60,000,000 are underinsured, millions more 
        are in jeopardy of losing their health insurance if they become ill and 
        cannot work or otherwise lose their jobs, and many who have insurance 
        find that necessary services are not covered;
Whereas the poor, minorities, individuals in rural communities, and the disabled 
        have long been inadequately served by the health care system and 
        encounter barriers to access to basic health care services that exceed 
        those faced by the general population;
Whereas the lack of access to basic health care services results in 
        underutilization of preventive health care, the occurrence of 
        preventable disease, and the eventual need for more costly curative 
        care;
Whereas the $800,000,000,000 annual national expenditure on health care is an 
        excessive burden on families and businesses, and health care costs are 
        continuing to rise;
Whereas the present health care system in the United States has failed to 
        deliver at least a basic level of health care services to all 
        individuals who are in need of such services;
Whereas recognition of access to health services as a basic human right is 
        already contained in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
        Rights, a covenant to which 118 countries have agreed to be bound but 
        that the United States has not yet signed;
Whereas declarations and recognition of rights have served to distinguish our 
        Nation's highest priorities, such as freedom of speech and the right to 
        a fair trial, and have provided for recourse in cases in which these 
        rights are abridged;
Whereas recognition of an ethical obligation by society to ensure equitable 
        access to basic health care services for all was made in 1983 by the 
        President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and 
        Biomedical and Behavior Research;
Whereas the Commission's report, Securing Access to Health Care, concluded that 
        the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that such obligation is met 
        rests with the Federal Government, and that access to basic health care 
        services requires that all citizens be able to secure an adequate level 
        of care without excessive burdens;
Whereas many other industrialized countries provide universal access to health 
        care and spend substantially less to do so per person than is spent 
        under the current health care system of the United States;
Whereas it is possible to identify a universal standard of basic health care 
        services and to achieve it as a matter of right for the people of the 
        United States; and
Whereas the determination of this standard should be developed on the basis of 
        substantial public participation, should be revised as new services 
        become available, and should make necessary health care services 
        available to all: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) access to basic health care services is a fundamental 
        human right;
            (2) all legislative proposals by the President and Congress 
        concerning national health care reform and any initiatives to 
        improve the delivery of health care should be based upon 
        recognition of this fundamental right; and
            (3) legislative proposals should be specifically developed 
        which make policy changes necessary to protect and guarantee 
        this fundamental right, including the development of 
        comprehensive and cost-effective strategies for delivery of 
        primary and preventive health care, the determination of a 
        universal standard of basic health care services, the reform of 
        public and private sector health care financing, and the 
        determination of priorities in the health care sector.

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