ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
24-238
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
October 5, 2021
To declare the sense of the Council that the District of Columbia should urge the United States
Congress to enact federal legislation to provide universal, comprehensive health coverage
with zero cost-sharing for patients, and to endorse the Medicare for All Act and the State-
Based Universal Health Care Act.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Sense of the Council Medicare for All Support Resolution of
2021.
Sec. 2. The Council finds that:
(1) Every person in the District of Columbia, the Washington Metropolitan
Area, and the entire United States deserves high quality health care.
(2) Although the District of Columbia has made great strides in increasing our
health care coverage through Medicaid expansion, we struggle to ensure quality health care for
all, as more than 24,500 people in the District of Columbia remain uninsured, and many more
are underinsured.
(3) Health care expenditures comprise a significant portion of the District of
Columbias budget, and a reduction in the federal matching rate for Medicaid has forced a $34
million increase in the District of Columbias contribution to Medicaid in Fiscal Year 2020.
(4) The District of Columbia suffers from racial disparities in quality of health
care and patient outcomes, clearly demonstrated by both the maternal and neonatal mortality
rates amongst Black Washingtonians and the unequal rates of morbidity and mortality during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
(5) As of 2016, incidences of cancer among Black residents of the District of
Columbia were 59% higher compared with White residents, but was only 11% higher across the
United States.
(6) Black residents of the District are 2.5 times more likely to die from heart
disease, 6 times more likely to die from diabetes-related complications, and 2 times more likely
to die from a stroke than their White counterparts.
(7) The District of Columbias Hispanic and Black residents are respectively 4
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and 6 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than White residents.
(8) The percentage of adults in the District of Columbia who self-report more than
14 or more days of poor mental health has been stable since 2014, while almost 20% of Black
residents report fair or poor mental health compared to 4% of White residents.
(9) District residents are consistently unable to find in-network mental health
providers, so that even basic office visits are not an option for many working families.
(10) The Medicare for All Act would remove all financial barriers and provide
full and comprehensive mental health services to all residents of the District of Columbia.
(11) While the Council has lowered barriers that undocumented migrants face
when applying for the D.C. Healthcare Alliance Program, at least 23% of undocumented
residents of the District of Columbia remain uninsured.
(12) The Medicare for All Act would provide long-term support services for
people in the disability community and those with pre-existing conditions.
(13) There are 8,300 people incarcerated in Washington, D.C. in local and
federal facilities who are unable to find employment upon release and are not covered by an
employer-based health care system.
(14) Medical bills are a leading cause of bankruptcy in this country and more
than 18% of residents of the District of Columbia report past-due medical debt.
(15) The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an increase in applications for
Medicaid in the District of Columbia by 23,295 between March 2020 and December 2020.
(16) The COVID-19 pandemic has led to record levels of unemployment, loss of
employer-sponsored health insurance, a severely strained health care system, and widespread
illness, and has taken a profound toll on our communitys mental health, all of which is placing
significant demands on our health care system.
(17) To address equitably and effectively the health care needs of people in the
District of Columbia, including the additional burden of the COVID-19 crisis, we must urge the
United States Congress to expand health insurance coverage to provide every resident of the
United States comprehensive health care without any cost-sharing.
(18) The State-Based Universal Health Care Act would amend the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act to authorize the establishment of, and provide support for,
state-based universal health care systems that provide comprehensive health care to their
residents.
Sec. 3. It is the sense of the Council, as part of the Districts commitment to respecting
that health care is a human right, that it is a priority for residents of the District of Columbia to
have universal, comprehensive health coverage with zero cost-sharing for patients and that
Medicare for All Act and the State-Based Universal Health Care Act should be enacted into law.
Sec. 4. The Council shall transmit copies of this resolution, upon its adoption, to the
Mayor, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United
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States Senate, and the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia.
Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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