[General Assembly, June 1994]

BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists affirm the worth and dignity of every individual,

BECAUSE, as set forth in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all people have a right to high-quality health care; and

WHEREAS access to both adequate health coverage and quality health care in the United States is neither equitable nor compassionate;

WHEREAS more than 13% of the United States’ gross national product (GNP) is spent on health care, more than in any other nation;

WHEREAS 37 million people living in the United States (13% of the population) have no health care coverage whatsoever, and increasing numbers cannot buy individuals medical insurance at any price;

WHEREAS Medicaid and Medicare do not adequately address the needs of the elderly of the poor;

WHEREAS the infant mortality rate in the United States is the highest in the industrialized world, and life expectancy in the Unite States has fallen to nineteenth in the world; and

WHEREAS Canada, with an annual per capita health care cost of $1,480 compared to the United States’ per capita cost of $2,050, has an infant mortality rate 25% lower than the United States’ and an average life span almost two years longer;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Unitarian Universalist Association, affirm that comprehensive health care is a basic human right, and call for the development of a more just and compassionate system of health care delivery in the United States;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the systems now in existence in other industrialized countries be considered as a model for the United States; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, consistent with an appropriate and affordable level funding, the system provide:

• Equitable access, cultural sensitivity, and basic treatment for all people;
• Adequate preventative care, including prenatal and holistic health care;
• Comprehensive treatment and coverage for long-term care and catastrophic illnesses;
• Access to and coverage for medications and prosthetics; and
• A complete range of voluntary and confidential health care, including family planning and reproductive services;

Statement of Robert Z. Alpern

Director, Unitarian Universalist Association, Washington Office

February 28, 1994

The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) supports an open, informed, civil and vigorous national public debate on the long overdue reform of our inadequate and discriminatory health care system.

In June 1992 the UUA General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a general resolution "Universal Health Care."

It affirmed that "comprehensive health care is a basic human right and demanded the development of a system which guarantees quality health care to every individual in the United States.

The UUA’s "Universal Health Care" Policy resolution calls for the inclusion of the following basic provisions in any health care reform legislation:

• Equitable access and basic treatment for all people
• Adequate preventative care including prenatal and holistic health care
• Comprehensive treatment for long-term care and catastrophic illness
• Complete range of voluntary and confidential care including family planning and reproductive services
• Freedom for individuals to choose their health providers

It urged UU congregations and individual Unitarian Universalists to support a national publicly funded comprehensive system of universal health care.