Mayors Urge Senate to Vote “NO” on the Motion to Proceed:  July 25, 2017

The United States Conference of Mayors sent a letter to all Senators urging them to vote “No” on the ‘motion to proceed’ on any healthcare legislation that would take away healthcare coverage from millions of Americans in our cities.  USCM strongly encourages leadership and relevant members to form a bipartisan working group in partnership with the nation’s mayors to craft legislation that will truly fix what ails our healthcare system.  Read the letter here.

Mayors Respond to CBO Score on Senate Health Bill: June 25, 2017

Mesa Mayor John Giles

“Today’s CBO score details that 22 million Americans will lose health coverage under the Senate bill. This is extremely troubling because that means 22 million people will now rely on local governments and local hospitals to cover their medical costs. We should not reform healthcare by shifting the burden to local taxpayers.”

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve

“The opioid epidemic is a growing problem in Reno and across the country and I’m proud to stand up with other mayors from both parties and all walks of life to take it head on while Congress stalls in partisan gridlock.”

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley

“Ohio is number one in the nation for accidental overdose deaths in the country. And in Dayton, we are at ground zero of that issue, and it’s hitting every part of our community. It does not discriminate. It enters small towns and big cities. Imagine if this bill goes forward, 220,000 Ohioans will be without healthcare services that really impact their lives every single day – that is unconscionable.”

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams

“Gutting Medicaid for the most vulnerable – those with preexisting conditions – spells economic disaster for a state like ours that is having a budget challenge. Choosing not to be a full participating partner in fighting the opioid pandemic is political malpractice. Senators Manchin and Capito have been terrific advocates for the state on this issue and I hope their colleagues in the Senate, Democrat and Republican, join them.”

Bangor Mayor Joe Baldacci

“In the state of Maine, one person dies every day from an opioid overdose. And this epidemic doesn’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. I want to thank my fellow mayors from across the country from both parties and each region for showing up and doing the work of fighting this health crisis each day.”

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz

“As Congress grapples with the issue, they need to remember the things that make America truly a great place. The elimination of some of the support that exists would be catastrophic for our state. In a small state like Alaska, these things are not abstract, they’re personal. It is intensely personal.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio

“The bottom line is that all mayors are struggling with the opioid crisis. Now imagine if we had a hand tied behind our back because it was much more expensive for those to get the care that they need – we are currently facing that threat. The opioid crisis is one of the biggest examples of why we can’t diminish the level of healthcare in this country. This is a matter of urgency for us, and we’re all working together, mayors from both parties and mayors from all across the country to address it.”

Mayors React to Passage of American Health Care Act: May 4, 2017

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

“This health care bill blatantly violates President Trump’s campaign promise that under his administration, more Americans would have better healthcare for less money.

“It should scare every American that Congress doesn’t know how many people this bill will hurt or what it costs. Unfortunately, estimates are that this bill will be a tragic mistake for tens of millions of families.  It eliminates protections for basic health care benefits, resulting in a race to the bottom for health insurance coverage. This means a return of lifetime limits on coverage and the elimination out-of-pocket cost cap. The bill also rolls back Medicaid expansion that provides coverage to more than 420,000 Louisianans – nearly 1 out of every 10 people in our state.

“As we enter into this time of uncertainty, I will continue to stand with my fellow Mayors to fight for all Americans.”

Read More

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh

“I am disappointed that Congress voted today to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This action will hurt people living with pre-existing conditions, deny access to essential benefits including substance use treatment and recovery services, and trigger large reductions in vital funding to Massachusetts. I stand with our Congressional Delegation in opposing this harmful proposal and vow to continue working to ensure that our residents have access to adequate, affordable health care.”

Read More

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio

“After seven years of complaining, the President and his friends in the House have made Trumpcare even deadlier by effectively tossing out coverage for pre-existing conditions. Eliminating health care for 24 million people to make insurance companies richer and cut taxes for millionaires wasn’t enough: Republicans had to subject the one in two Americans who have pre-existing conditions to losing their healthcare. We’re not going to stand for it. Mayors across the country are organizing and we’ll take this fight to the Senate, where we have strong allies in Senators Schumer and Gillibrand. To House members who voted for this monstrosity, we’ll see you in 2018.”

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser

“Today, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed legislation that has the potential to hurt millions of Americans by taking away their health care coverage. While we don’t know the full estimated impact nationally, nor does Congress, the current proposal will either eliminate or reduce coverage for an estimated 90,000 District residents. We believe the Medicaid changes alone will cost the District between $1.8 and $4 billion in lost federal revenue over the next seven years, including an immediate loss of $53 million in FY2018.

In many states, people with preexisting conditions will be deprived of critical protections established by the Affordable Care Act – protections that guarantee every American affordable, quality health coverage; protections that prevent insurance companies from charging women higher rates than men, or from charging people with medical needs higher rates when they get sick; and protections that ensure every baby born with an illness has health coverage.

In Washington, DC, we uphold the belief that access to safe and affordable health care is not a luxury, it is a necessity. I will continue fighting to ensure that all Washingtonians have access to the health care they need and deserve.”

Read More

Mesa Mayor John Giles

“Today’s action by the U.S. House could unnecessarily harm senior citizens and patients with preexisting conditions. The Affordable Care Act needs to be repaired, but today’s vote was a step backwards. Increasing consumer competition and choices, while lowering premiums should be the focus of health care reform instead of making it harder for our most vulnerable to receive coverage.”

Mayors React to the American Health Care Act: March 7, 2017

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

“As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump made a simple promise to the nation – that more Americans would have better healthcare for less money. In less than one month after being sworn in, President Trump has reneged on that promise by proposing a plan that will ration healthcare for the working poor and middle class.”

Read More

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio

“Repealing the Affordable Care Act, which has brought quality health care and financial stability to tens of millions of people, would be a disaster for New Yorkers. While the Affordable Care Act asks wealthy Americans to pitch in to make sure everyone has access to health care, the Republican bill does the opposite. The rich get a tax cut and working families pay more for less care. Now that they’re finally being honest about their plan, it’s time to build a grassroots movement to stop it.”

Read More

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney

“The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act is a big tax cut for the rich at the cost of low and middle income families.  The bill would cut Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood, and replace assistance to lower-income people to buy health insurance with tax credits for the rich.  In the end, it will lead to many Philadelphians losing their health insurance, and those with health insurance paying more out of pocket.”

“More than 200,000 Philadelphians have gained coverage through the Affordable Care Act, over 160,000 through Medicaid and about 60,000 through the Marketplace. The ACA has also enabled 160,000 additional Philadelphians to receive treatment for mental illness or substance use through the Medicaid behavioral health program, which is operated by the City’s Department of Behavioral Health. Furthermore, in the three years that the ACA has been in effect, the Philadelphia region has added approximately 20,000 jobs in the healthcare and education sector.

Read More

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges

“It is immoral that anyone in America would be without affordable access to healthcare, which along with food, water, and shelter, is the most basic of human rights. It is beyond imagination that Republicans would actually take healthcare away from people who got it through the Affordable Care Act.

“Because cities will feel the greatest impact from any repeal or replacement of the ACA, a couple weeks ago, I signed a letter along with more than 80 other mayors from around the country to ask Congress to proceed very carefully with replacing the ACA, and to ensure that the ACA’s most important provisions be retained. Instead, the Republican Congress is proposing to ram through a bill with potentially devastating consequences to our cities and our people. Few understand all the impacts it might have, and no one knows how much it would cost or whom it will — or won’t — cover, because it hasn’t even been reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office.

“Moving forward without a CBO score is unacceptable and wrong. The American people have a right to know every way in which this bill will affect their health and their wallets. Mayors have a right to know how it will affect our cities that are on the front line of Trump’s attacks. I call on House Republican leadership to place a hold on this bill until it has been fully scored and the American people know everything there is to know about how it will hurt them.”

Read More

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer

“As Vice President Pence visits Louisville today, I urge him and other leaders in Washington DC to do as President Trump has promised — to provide quality health care to more Americans at a lower cost with more options than currently offered. I also urge Congress to slow down and get healthcare right — for the sake of 500,000 Kentuckiana, including 100,000 Louisville residents, who have gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act.”

Gary (IN) Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson

“As proposed the “American Health Care Act” would reduce coverage for many of the most neediest citizens; it would also remove Medicaid expansion, also a very limiting provision. In fact, this replacement is not very American at all.  Every American should have the right to affordable health care.”

Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez

“We have to put parties and politics aside and find the best possible plan for universal health care.”

National Mayors Day of Action on Healthcare: February 22, 2017

As threats to the Affordable Care Act loom, mayors across the country will hold a National Mayors’ Day of Action on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 to stress the serious impact losing healthcare coverage would have on millions of Americans.  Taking advantage of the Congressional recess, mayors in cities large and small will join with key stakeholders, including residents, small businesses, hospital administrators, and others to underscore the importance of the patient protections included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) which have enjoyed bipartisan support, and protected innumerable Americans from the catastrophic cost of illness. Mayors will use the #MayorsStand4All in their social media to amplify the message on February 22 and beyond.

Participating Mayors

  • Kathy Sheehan, Albany, NY
  • Allison Silberberg, Alexandria, VA
  • Hardie Davis, Jr., Augusta, GA
  • Steve Adler, Austin, TX
  • Catherine E. Pugh, Baltimore, MD
  • Joseph M. Baldacci, Bangor, ME
  • Marcus Muhammad, Benton Harbor, MI
  • William A. Bell, Sr., Birmingham, AL
  • Ron Rordam, Blacksburg, VA
  • Martin Walsh, Boston, MA
  • Joseph P. Ganim, Bridgeport, CT
  • Denise Simmons, Cambridge, MA
  • Jennifer Roberts, Charlotte, NC
  • Rahm Emanuel, Chicago, IL
  • Patrick Wojahn, College Park, MD
  • Steve Benjamin, Columbia, SC
  • Andrew J. Ginther, Columbus, OH
  • Jim B. Clarke, Culver City, CA
  • Robb Davis, Davis, CA
  • Nan Whaley, Dayton, OH
  • Derrick Henry, Daytona Beach, FL
  • Michael Hancock, Denver, CO
  • Roy Buol, Dubuque, IA
  • Lester E. Taylor III, East Orange, NJ
  • Sal Panto, Jr., Easton, PA
  • Catherine Blakespear, Encinitas, CA
  • Mario Avery, Fairburn, GA
  • Karen Freeman-Wilson, Gary, IN
  • Errick D. Simmons, Greenville, MS
  • Krysti Kovarik, Gurnee, IL
  • Curt Balzano, Hamden, CT
  • Wayne Hall, Hempstead, NY
  • Nancy Rotering, Highland Park, IL
  • Joe Hogsett, Indianapolis, IN
  • Jim Throgmorton, Iowa City, IA
  • Steven M. Fulop, Jersey City, NJ
  • Bobby Hopewell, Kalamazoo, MI
  • Mark Holland, Kansas City, KS
  • Sly James, Kansas City, MO
  • Madeline Rogero, Knoxville, TN
  • Judah Zeigler, Leonia, NJ
  • Robert Garcia, Long Beach, CA
  • Chase Ritenauer, Lorain, OH
  • Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles, CA
  • Greg Fischer, Louisville, KY
  • Paul Soglin, Madison, WI
  • John Giles, Mesa, AZ
  • Betsy Hodges, Minneapolis, MN
  • Richard Thomas, Mt. Vernon, NY
  • Jon Mitchell, New Bedford, MA
  • Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans, LA
  • McKinley L. Price, DDS, Newport News, VA
  • Bill de Blasio, New York, NY
  • Libby Schaaf, Oakland, CA
  • John Adornato, Oakland Park, FL
  • Buddy Dyer, Orlando, FL
  • Frank C. Ortis, Pembroke Pines, FL
  • Jim Kenney, Philadelphia, PA
  • Greg Stanton, Phoenix, AZ
  • William Peduto, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Adrian Mapp, Plainfield, NJ
  • Liz Lempert, Princeton, NJ
  • Jorge Elorza, Providence, RI
  • Tom Butt, Richmond, CA
  • Lovely Warren, Rochester, NY
  • Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Jim Ruane, San Bruno, California, CA
  • Edwin Lee, San Francisco, CA
  • Pauline Russo Cutter, San Leandro, CA
  • Helene Schneider, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Javier Gonzales, Santa Fe, NM
  • Alice Patino, Santa Maria, CA
  • Ed Murray, Seattle, WA
  • Chris Rey, Spring Lake, NC
  • Francis Slay, St. Louis, MO
  • Stephanie Miner, Syracuse, NY
  • Marilyn Strickland, Tacoma, WA
  • Paula Hicks-Hudson, Toledo, OH
  • Carol Dutra-Venaci, Union City, CA
  • Muriel Bowser, Washington, DC
  • Edward M. O’Brien, West Haven, CT
  • Lauren Meister, West Hollywood, CA
  • Chris Cabaldon, West Sacramento, CA
  • C. Kim Bracey, York, PA
  • John McNally, Youngstown, OH

Our Letter

Join Us

Dear Leaders:

On behalf of United States Conference of Mayors, we urge Congress to take into consideration the effect that the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) will have on our nation’s cities large and small, urban and rural.

As Mayors, we share a responsibility for the health and well-being of our communities, which includes ensuring access to comprehensive and affordable health care. Millions of Americans have gained insurance under the ACA, and the law has been instrumental in bringing about insurance reforms from which we all benefit. It is imperative that we preserve this progress.

The ACA has improved the lives of many Americans and shouldn’t be tossed out without careful consideration of the effect. Repealing the ACA would deny desperately needed access to care to individuals and families; place an undue burden on our local hospitals; and, would rescind safeguards for patients currently suffering from chronic and terminal illnesses.

Moreover, there are important provisions of the ACA which have bipartisan support, are working well, and should be retained including:

  • Insuring children up to the age of 26;
  • Eliminating lifetime and annual limits;
  • Assuring eligibility for insurance coverage even with pre-existing conditions;
  • Guaranteeing coverage for pregnancy and breast cancer screenings; and,
  • Providing coverage for preventive services at no additional cost

Further, Mayors support the provisions in the ACA, which have increased mental health and substance use disorder benefits and provided parity. Mayors, also, oppose efforts to convert Medicaid to block grants.

The effects of repealing the ACA will be felt most heavily at the local level. It is our cities and counties that will see increases in indigent care costs for our hospitals, in uninsured rates and uncompensated care costs; and it is our low and moderate income residents who will return to a time of having to choose between health care and everyday living expenses, like groceries.

As Mayors representing millions of citizens, we are united in urging you to build upon, not tear down, the progress that has been made to our healthcare system and to ensure that none of the 20 million newly covered individuals is left without health care coverage.

Sincerely,

Mick Cornett
President
Mayor of Oklahoma City, OK

Mitchell J. Landrieu
Vice President
Mayor of New Orleans, LA

Stephen K. Benjamin
Second Vice President
Mayor of Columbia, SC

Dan Horrigan
Mayor of Akron, OH

Josef Lucero
Mayor of Alamosa, CO

Kathy Sheehan
Mayor of Albany, NY

Christopher Taylor
Mayor of Ann Arbor, MI

Esther Manheimer
Mayor of Asheville, NC

Kasim Reed
Mayor of Atlanta, GA

Kevin J. Dumas
Mayor of Attleboro, MA

Hardie Davis Jr.
Mayor of Augusta, GA

Steve Adler
Mayor of Austin, TX

Joseph Baldacci
Mayor of Bangor, ME

Kathi Newsham
Mayor of Bay City, MI

Denny Doyle
Mayor of Beaverton, OR

Robert J. Donchez
Mayor of Bethlehem, PA

William Bell
Mayor of Birmingham, AL

Ron Rordam
Mayor of Blacksburg, VA

Martin J. Walsh
Mayor of Boston, MA

Tim Willson
Mayor of Brooklyn Center, MN

Elizabeth B. Kautz
Mayor of Burnsville, MN

Paula Zelenko
Mayor of Burton, MI

Denise Simmons
Mayor of Cambridge, MA

Elizabeth Gibbons
Mayor of Campbell, CA

Edwin Garcia-Feliciano
Mayor of Camuy, PR

Bob Hoog
Mayor of Cape Canaveral, FL

Marni Sawicki
Mayor of Cape Coral, FL

Jim Brainard
Mayor of Carmel, IN

Pam Hemminger
Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC

John Tecklenburg
Mayor of Charleston, SC

Jennifer Roberts
Mayor of Charlotte, NC

Rahm Emanuel
Mayor of Chicago, IL

Michael B. Hancock
Mayor of Denver, CO

Patrick Wojahn
Mayor of College Park, MD

Andrew J. Ginther
Mayor of Columbus, OH

Biff Traber
Mayor of Corvallis, OR

Katrina Foley
Mayor of Costa Mesa, CA

Nan Whaley
Mayor of Dayton, OH

Derrick Henry
Mayor of Daytona Beach, FL

Roy D. Buol
Mayor of Dubuque, IA

William V. Bell
Mayor of Durham, NC

Lucy Vinis
Mayor of Eugene, OR

Ray Stephanson
Mayor of Everett, WA

Steven Stombres
Mayor of Fairfax, VA

Peter Lindstrom
Mayor of Falcon Heights, MN

Lydia Mihalik
Mayor of Findlay, OH

Coral J. Evans
Mayor of Flagstaff, AZ

Acquanetta Warren
Mayor of Fontana, CA

Karen Freeman-Wilson
Mayor of Gary, IN

Paula Perotte
Mayor of Goleta, CA

Rosalynn Bliss
Mayor of Grand Rapids, MI

Donnie R. Tuck
Mayor of Hampton, VA

Luke Bronin
Mayor of Hartford, CT

David Leake
Mayor of Haymarket, VA

Nancy Rotering
Mayor of Highland Park, IL

Alex Morse
Mayor of Holyoke, MA

Joe Hogsett
Mayor of Indianapolis, IN

Jim Throgmorton
Mayor of Iowa City, IA

Sam Teresi
Mayor of Jamestown, NY

Steven M. Fulop
Mayor of Jersey City, NJ

Bobby J. Hopewell
Mayor of Kalamazoo, MI

Mark Holland
Mayor of Kansas City, KS

Sylvester “Sly” James, Jr.
Mayor of Kansas City, MO

Madeline Rogero
Mayor of Knoxville, TN

Jonathan C. Curtis
Mayor of La Canada Flintridge, CA

Bob Keith
Mayor of Lake Lure, NC

J. Richard Gray
Mayor of Lancaster, PA

David Berger
Mayor of Lima, OH

Chris Beutler
Mayor of Lincoln, NE

Mark Stodola
Mayor of Little Rock, AR

Robert Garcia
Mayor of Long Beach, CA

Eric Garcetti
Mayor of Los Angeles, CA

Greg Fischer
Mayor of Louisville, KY

Paul Soglin
Mayor of Madison, WI

Geroge Karos
Mayor of Martinsburg, WV

John Giles
Mayor of Mesa, AZ

Rich Tran
Mayor of Milpitas, CA

Betsy Hodges
Mayor of Minneapolis, MN

Marti Shamberger
Mayor of Morgantown, WV

Ken Rosenberg
Mayor of Mountain View, CA

Stephen J Gawron
Mayor of Muskegon, MI

Megan Barry
Mayor of Nashville, TN

Jon Mitchell
Mayor of New Bedford, MA

Toni N. Harp
Mayor of New Haven, CT

Noam Bramson
Mayor of New Rochelle, NY

Bill de Blasio
Mayor of New York City, NY

McKinley L. Price, DDS
Mayor of Newport News, VA

Setti Warren
Mayor of Newton MA

Chris Koos
Mayor of Normal, IL

Joe A. Smith
Mayor of North Little Rock, AR

Robert L Johnson
Mayor of North Wilkesboro, NC

Libby Schaaf
Mayor of Oakland, CA

Gary Herzig
Mayor of Oneonta, NY

Buddy Dyer
Mayor of Orlando, FL

Frank C. Ortis
Mayor of Pembroke Pines, FL

Betsy McBride
Mayor of Pennsauken, NJ

Greg Stanton
Mayor of Phoenix, AZ

Bill Peduto
Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

Adrian O. Mapp
Mayor of Plainfield, NJ

Lawrence Shaffer
Mayor of Portage, MI

Liz Lempert
Mayor of Princeton, NJ

Hillary Schieve
Mayor of Reno, NV

Tom Butt
Mayor of Richmond, CA

Lovely Warren
Mayor of Rochester NY

Darrel Steinberg
Mayor of Sacramento, CA

Chris Coleman
Mayor of Saint Paul, MN

Jackie Biskupski
Mayor of Salt Lake City, UT

Jim Ruane
Mayor of San Bruno, CA

Kevin Faulconer
Mayor of San Diego, CA

Edwin M. Lee
Mayor of San Francisco, CA

Pauline Russo Cutter
Mayor of San Leandro, CA

Sam Liccardo
Mayor of San Jose, CA

Helene Schneider
Mayor of Santa Barbara, CA

Gary McCarthy
Mayor of Schenectady, NY

Ed Murray
Mayor of Seattle, WA

Chris Roberts
Mayor of Shoreline, WA

Jeffrey Slavin
Mayor of Somerset, MD

Francis Slay
Mayor of St. Louis, MO

Carol Warren
Mayor of Stanton, CA

Javier Perea
Mayor of Sunland Park, NM

Stephanie Miner
Mayor of Syracuse, NY

Marilyn Strickland
Mayor of Tacoma, WA

Bob Buckhorn
Mayor of Tampa, FL

Mark Mitchell
Mayor of Tempe, AZ

Paula Hicks-Hudson
Mayor of Toledo, OH

Jim Carruthers
Mayor of Traverse City, MI

Dane Slater
Mayor of Troy, MI

Carol Dutra-Vernaci
Mayor of Union City, CA

Scott Avedisian
Mayor of Warwick, RI

Shari Cantor
Mayor of West Hartford, CT

Edward O’Brien
Mayor of West Haven, CT

Lauren Meister
Mayor of West Hollywood, CA

Jeri Muoio
Mayor of West Palm Beach, FL

Christopher Cabaldon
Mayor of West Sacramento, CA

William R. Wild
Mayor of Westland, MI

Daniel J. Stermer
Mayor of Weston, FL

Edward Whalen
Mayor of Whitehall, MI

David Poucher
Mayor of White Salmon, WA

Zachary J Vruwink
Mayor of Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Joseph Petty
Mayor of Worchester, MA

Questions?

Crystal SwannAssistant Executive Director