Orange County NC Website
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING HOUSE BILL ].39G AN AMENDMENT TO THE <br />CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA TO RECOGNIZE HEALTH CARE AS A <br />FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF ALL RESIDENTS. <br />WHEREAS, Representative Verla Insko introduced House Bill 1396 into the General Assembly <br />of North Carolina, Session 1999 - 2000, to amend the Constitution ofNorth Carolina, as follows: <br />Sec. 38. Health Care <br />(1) Basic right. <br />Health care is an essential safeguazd of human life, and there is an obligation for the state <br />to ensure that every resident is able to obtain this fundamental right. No later than May <br />31, 2004, the General Assembly shall provide by law a plan that enables every resident of <br />the State to obtain appropriate health caze on a regulaz basis. <br />(2) No money damages; other enforcement. <br />Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating a claim fog monetary damages <br />against the State, a county, a municipality, or any of the agencies, instrumentalities, or <br />employees thereof. The General Assembly may provide for other remedies to ensure <br />adequate enforcement of this section. <br />WHEREAS, 1 S% of North Cazolinas population, or over a million people, gaze without health <br />insurance and this numbex has increased S7% over the last seven yeazs which is a growth rate <br />two to three times greater than the national average, and <br />WHEREAS, 74% of uninsured adults in North Carolina aze employed, and the majority of these <br />lack coverage because their employer does not offer a health benefit or, if they do, it is too <br />costly, and <br />WHEREAS, reseazch has demonstrated that the uninsured, even those who are sick, chronically <br />ill, or have special health care needs, get less health care than those who have insurance and are <br />mare likely to delay getting the care they need and less likely to use preventative services, and <br />WHEREAS, Medicare does not currently cover prescription medications and the average out-af- <br />pocket spending far health care of a typical elderly person is 23% of their income, and <br />WHEREAS, 30% of those financially eligible for Medicaid are not covered because of other <br />restrictions, and <br />WHEREAS, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not <br />provide health caze for all its citizens, and <br />(over) <br />