PUBLIC TEACHING HOSPITALS

WHEREAS, 43 million Americans have no health insurance, the majority of these being children; and

WHEREAS, U.S. society is increasingly stratified between the very rich and very poor; and

WHEREAS, insurance companies and HMOs structure their plans to restrict access to hospital care; and

WHEREAS, insurance companies and HMOs negotiate to pay less for hospital services than they cost; and

WHEREAS, the federal government has cut back drastically in funding for graduate medical education, through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997; and

WHEREAS, many public teaching hospitals in the U.S. are incurring budget deficits; and

WHEREAS, public teaching hospitals provide care for the indigent and underserved; and

WHEREAS, public teaching hospitals fill in the gaps in market-based medical care, providing necessary services not deemed profitable; and

WHEREAS, public teaching hospitals with their unique obligation, can focus on critical public health services:

RESOLVED, that the AFT defend and advance the interests of public teaching hospitals throughout the U.S. by:

• fighting privatization efforts;

• working for increased state and federal support for public teaching hospitals; and

• protecting the integrity of public teaching hospitals' service by advancing the collective bargaining rights and professionalism of the health care workers within them.