RESOLUTION NUMBER 6399-2022
A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Sebastopol Supporting Legislation for Guaranteed Health Care for All
WHEREAS every resident in Sebastopol deserves high-quality healthcare, and WHEREAS the ever-increasing costs of care, which are further elevated due to the pandemic, challenge already strapped municipal budgets, and
WHEREAS the pandemic has led to the loss of employer-sponsored health insurance—showing the shortcoming of tying health insurance to employment, and WHEREAS the vast majority of households and small businesses in Sebastopol would save money under a single-payer healthcare system and physicians would be able to focus on efficiently providing the best care possible for all residents, and
WHEREAS comprehensive single-payer health care is expected to reduce health care costs compared to the existing multi-payer health care system; and
WHEREAS, the benefits of a guaranteed health care system include eliminating catastrophic, unexpected health care costs, eliminating denials of preventative health care and forcing residents to use the emergency room due to lack of health insurance, reduced health care cost complexity, reduction of health care premiums paid by businesses and municipalities, and decoupling the connection between employment and ability to maintain health coverage; and WHEREAS, single-payer health care systems such as the federal Medicare for All Act and CalCare would provide health insurance that covers all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical and outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, reproductive care, dental and vision care, and long term care; and
WHEREAS both the federal Medicare for All Act of 2021 and the state CalCare bill will guarantee that all residents of Sebastopol will be fully covered for healthcare without co-pays, deductibles, or other out-ofpocket costs, and would save millions in taxpayer dollars now spent on premiums that provide often inadequate health insurance coverage for government employees.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Sebastopol that the City of Sebastopol urges the U.S. Congress and the California state legislature to pass legislation to create a single-payer system that will provide all residents with universal, comprehensive, and equitable health coverage; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Sebastopol hereby declares its support for health care legislation with the following characteristics:
• Universal in scope
• Free at the point of service
• Provides preventative, diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitative coverage • Covers a wide range of health care items and services • Cost neutral or positive to the health care recipient PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the CITY COUNCIL of THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL, COUNTY OF SONOMA, of STATE OF CALIFORNIA on this 1st day of February 2022.
I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by City of Sebastopol City Council following a roll call vote:
VOTE:
Ayes: Councilmembers Glass, Gurney, Rich, Vice Mayor Hinton and Mayor Slayter Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
APPROVED:
Mayor Patrick Slayter
ATTEST: ______________________________
Mary Gourley, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, MMC
Larry McLaughlin, City Attorney