[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 410 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 410

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the enactment of legislation 
  that provides access to comprehensive health care for all Americans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2006

   Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Stark, Ms. Lee, Ms. 
     Woolsey, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Berman, Mr. Brady of 
   Pennsylvania, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
    Crowley, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
Delahunt, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Engel, Mr. Evans, Mr. Farr, Mr. Fattah, Mr. 
  Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
 Kaptur, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode 
Island, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, 
Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Markey, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. McDermott, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Olver, Mr. 
 Owens, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Rush, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
   Serrano, Ms. Solis, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Tierney, Mr. 
 Towns, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Waters, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Wexler, and 
  Mr. Wynn) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the enactment of legislation 
  that provides access to comprehensive health care for all Americans.

Whereas the United States has the most expensive health care system in the world 
        in terms of absolute costs, per capita costs, and percentage of gross 
        domestic product (GDP);
Whereas despite being first in spending, the World Health Organization has 
        ranked the United States 37th among all nations in terms of meeting the 
        health care needs of its people;
Whereas nearly 46 million Americans, including 8,000,000 children, are 
        uninsured;
Whereas tens of millions more Americans are inadequately insured, including 
        Medicare beneficiaries who lack access to meaningful prescription drug 
        coverage and affordable long term care coverage;
Whereas racial, income, and ethnic disparities in access to care threaten 
        communities across the country, particularly communities of color;
Whereas health care costs continue to increase, jeopardizing the financial and 
        health security of working families and small businesses;
Whereas dollars that could be spent on health care are being used for 
        administrative costs instead of patient needs;
Whereas the current health care system too often puts the bottom line ahead of 
        patient care and threatens safety net providers who treat the uninsured 
        and poorly insured; and
Whereas any health care reform must ensure that health care providers and 
        practitioners are able to provide patients with the quality care they 
        need: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That it is the sense of the Congress that legislation should be enacted 
by October 1, 2008, to guarantee that every person in the United 
States, regardless of income, age, or employment or health status, is 
entitled to receive all medically necessary care under a system of care 
that meets the following requirements:
            (1) The system provides a single universal standard of 
        excellence in care applied to all patients.
            (2) Under the system, care is affordable to all individuals 
        and families, businesses, and taxpayers and there are no 
        financial barriers to needed care.
            (3) The system is as cost efficient as possible, spending 
        the maximum amount of dollars on direct patient care.
            (4) The system provides comprehensive benefits, including 
        benefits for mental health and long term care services.
            (5) The system promotes prevention and early intervention.
            (6) The system includes parity for mental health and other 
        services.
            (7) The system eliminates disparities in access to quality 
        health care.
            (8) The system addresses the needs of people with special 
        health care needs and underserved populations in rural and 
        urban areas.
            (9) The system promotes quality and better health outcomes.
            (10) The system addresses the need to have adequate numbers 
        of qualified health care caregivers, practitioners, and 
        providers to guarantee timely access to quality care.
            (11) The system provides adequate and timely payments in 
        order to guarantee access to providers.
            (12) The system fosters a strong network of health care 
        facilities, including safety-net providers.
            (13) The system ensures continuity of coverage and 
        continuity of care.
            (14) The system maximizes consumer choice of health care 
        providers and practitioners.
            (15) The system is easy for patients, providers, and 
        practitioners to use and reduces paperwork.
            (16) The system provides patients with sufficient 
        information to make informed decisions when selecting their 
        health care providers.
                                 <all>