WHEREAS:
State governments are often the largest purchaser of health care in a state; and
WHEREAS:
Contracts for insurance covering state employees, their dependents, and retirees are often lucrative and highly political; and
WHEREAS:
Local government and school district employees often do not have the option of pooling together to increase their health care purchasing power or join with the state to leverage their health care dollars; and
WHEREAS:
Public employees, like employees everywhere, often must enroll in HMOs, PPOs, or other arrangements which limit their choice of health care providers. Public employees, like employees everywhere, often face higher and higher co-pays and deductibles if they remain in indemnity insurance plans; and
WHEREAS:
Health care workers, from doctors to nurses aides, face increasing pressure from health care cost cutting and profit-hungry insurers and hospitals; and
WHEREAS:
Unionized health care workers deserve to be supported by their brothers and sisters in both the public and private sectors.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME demand a greater voice in how health care is purchased on behalf of our members, their families, and retirees; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME strive to ensure that high quality health care is available at reasonable cost, and patient protections are established at the bargaining table and in the legislative arena; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME demand greater health care options for local governments, including the formation of purchasing coalitions, so that our members have greater choice, higher quality, and reasonable costs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME raise our concerns about the rights of health care workers and their ability to deliver quality care to our employees, state legislators, and directly to insurers, hospitals, and other providers; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:
That AFSCME work to establish unionized "preferred providers" and encourage our employers to contract with, and our members to patronize, those health care providers that respect the rights of their employees to organize and delivery high quality care.
SUBMITTED BY:
Peter Benner, Executive Director and Delegate
AFSCME Council 6
Minn