The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutResolutions - 2017.01.26 - 22764MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION _#17026 BY: Commissioner David Woodward, District #19 IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS - ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OAKLAND COUNTY HEALTH CARE FOR ALL COMMISSION To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: WHEREAS the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, was enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law in 2010; and WHEREAS the Congressional Budget Office (CB0) reported in their March 2016 baseline projections that there were approximately 23 million people with health care insurance as a result of the ACA, with 12 million people covered by the exchanges (10 million of whom received subsidies to help pay for insurance) and 11 million receiving health care through Medicaid expansion; and WHEREAS the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation analyses of Michigan Health and Human Services Marketplace Plan Selection Data and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Green Book Data state the total enrollment of Oakland County residents due to the ACA, as of August 2015, was equal to 186,251 or 15% of the County's population; and WHEREAS the executive order of President Donald J. Trump dated January 20, 2017, is seeking the prompt repeal of Obamacare; and WHEREAS according to a January 2017 poll released by NBC and the Wall Street Journal, most Americans think Obamacare is a "good idea" and have "little to no confidence that Republican proposals to replace the law will make things better"; and WHEREAS the benefits to health care consumers made possible because of Obamacare include: • Requirement of all insurance companies to cover ten essential health benefits including treatment for mental health, addiction, and chronic diseases • Provides free preventative services to all women • Provides free preventative services for Medicare recipients • Prohibits insurance companies from denying health coverage to consumers with pre-existing conditions • Protects consumers with pre-existing conditions from insurance companies gouging them with unreasonably high premiums • Prohibits insurance companies from charging higher rates based upon health status or gender • Requires that birth control is made available at no additional cost • Allows adult children to stay on their parents insurance until age 26 • Ends annual and lifetime limits on insurance payouts for medical care • Requires 85% of insurance premiums go to health care or consumers are entitled to a refund • Requires uniform health coverage reporting so consumers can easily do apples to apples comparisons of plans. WHEREAS a recent CB0 analysis has concluded a repeal of the ACA would leave more than 18 million people without health insurance in the first new plan year following enactment of a repeal, 27 million in the year following the elimination of the Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies and 32 million by 2026; and WHEREAS a full repeal of the ACA would cost the federal government $350 billion over the next decade, according to a new analysis from the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; and WHEREAS based upon the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) an estimated 27% of adult Americans under the age of 65 have health conditions that would likely leave them uninsurable if they applied for individual market coverage under pre-ACA underwriting practices that existed in nearly all states; and WHEREAS a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that most people (53%) reported that they, or someone in their household, has a pre-existing condition, in Michigan the estimated percent of non-elderly people with declinable pre-existing conditions under pre-ACA practices was 28% or 1,687,000 Michiganders; and WHEREAS two professors of public health at the City University of New York's Hunter College, Dr. David Himmelstein and Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, both lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School, citing data from the New England Journal of Medicine, agree that even with conservative estimates repealing Obamacare will result in 43,956 deaths every year; and WHEREAS based upon George Washington University analysis, a repeal to key parts of the ACA would lead to major cuts in federal assistance for health care, thereby triggering major losses in employment and serious economic dislocations in all states; and WHEREAS these consequences could extend well beyond the health care industry, triggering major reductions in employment and substantial losses in state economic activity and reduced state and local revenues; and WHEREAS it is Oakland County's duty to address Congress and assert its influence to maintain the prohibition on insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, coverage for children under the age of 26, state funding for Medicaid expansion, subsidies for private health insurance coverage obtained through the public marketplaces known as exchanges, and all the other health care consumer benefits outlined above; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners recognizes the importance of quality, affordable health care for all Americans, most importantly the citizens of Oakland County. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Oakland County must be ready to face the negative consequences on our residents if current efforts to repeal Obamacare are successful, especially those Oakland County residents who receive health care today because of Obamacare. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the establishment of an Oakland County Health Care for All Commission (OCHCAC) to study the impact of a federal repeal of the Affordable Care Act and provide recommendations for state/local action to make sure Oakland County residents obtain or maintain quality, affordable health insurance, and to preserve the health care consumer benefits currently available under Obamacare (outlined above). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OCHCAC leadership will be appointed by the Chairman of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners as follows: (1) Oakland County Commissioner to serve as Majority Co-Chairperson (1) Oakland County Commissioner to serve as Minority Co-Chairperson BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Co-Chairperson(s) of the OCHCAC will appoint a representative (member) from each of the following to establish the Core Group: (1) Representative from the Oakland County Health and Human Services Department (1) Representative from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (1) Representative from the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA) (1) Oakland County Hospital - Administrative Director (1) Oakland County Doctor (1) Oakland County Nurse (1) Representative from the health insurance industry BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the appointments and length of service to the OCHCAC will be at the discretion of the Co-Chairperson(s) and will not exceed the term of the County Commission. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if a vacancy occurs on the Commission, the Co-Chairperson(s) of the OCHCAC will appoint a representative to fill the vacancy. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a report of the OCHCAC will be submitted to the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and the public within 90 days of the first meeting. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the County of Oakland is directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, the Governor of the State of Michigan, State Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the State House Speaker and Minority Leader, members of the Oakland County delegation to the Michigan Legislature, the Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency Board of Directors, the Michigan Nurses Association and the Oakland County Medical Society. Chairperson, 1 move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution. Commissioner David Woodward District #19 Cornmissron District* 20 ikeiaL/Let, ,qe-e4 I-e44,4-eu Commissioner District* /3 Commissioner Commissioner District* District Commissioner Commissioner District District Cornmissioner Cornmissioner District* District Commissioner Commissioner District District* Commissioner Commissioner District District* Commissioner Commissioner District* District* Commissioner Commissioner District District* Resolution #17026 January 26, 2017 The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no objections.