00                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4                                                                   
01 Relating to public health and a health compact.                                                                         
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS this state continues to lead the nation in negative health indicators,                                  
04 including tobacco use and alcohol abuse; and                                                                            
05       WHEREAS state residents continue to rank poorly in rates of obesity and lack of                                 
06 physical activity compared to other states, and these negative indicators can lead to long-term                         
07 illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases that require costly and ongoing                          
08 health care; and                                                                                                        
09       WHEREAS the state ranks second in the nation in per capita public health costs;                                 
10 every layer of government in the state spent over $1,000,000,000 on health-related costs in                             
11 2005, and, despite these substantial expenditures on health care, the state still has a low                             
12 ranking in the overall health of its population; and                                                                    
13       WHEREAS, under the current system, the state's health care costs continue to rise,                            
14 often resulting in lower expenditures for standard preventative health measures; and                                    
15       WHEREAS the state must develop a health care strategy that provides opportunities                               
16 to advance the quality and accessibility of health care so that the overall health of state                             

01 residents will be improved; and                                                                                         
02       WHEREAS the state has a high rate of uninsured residents who often cannot afford                                
03 preventative health care programs or medical assistance when sick, and these behavioral                                 
04 patterns can result in a higher incidence of long-term illness that often leads to catastrophic                         
05 levels of debt; and                                                                                                     
06       WHEREAS the high number of uninsured residents in the state translates into poor                                
07 physical and financial health; and                                                                                      
08       WHEREAS medical training in the state for health care providers is not sufficiently                             
09 funded to produce qualified health care workers to occupy the many unfilled health care                                 
10 professional positions statewide; as a result, medical practitioners and health care workers are                        
11 recruited from outside of the state to fill these positions, thus depriving the state's present and                     
12 future health care workers of good careers and well-paying jobs; and                                                    
13       WHEREAS there is an increasing need for translators who can communicate with                                    
14 patients for whom English is a second language, and the lack of qualified translators creates                           
15 barriers to receiving adequate medical treatment;                                                                       
16       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature invites state departments, all                                 
17 local governments, private and nonprofit businesses, and individuals to join in forming the                             
18 Alaska 2008 Health Compact; and be it                                                                                   
19       FURTHER RESOLVED that each compact member may voluntarily craft and                                             
20 promote the member's own health preventative or curative initiative in the arena of the                                 
21 member's unique experience or interest, that the compact member's plans and efforts will be                             
22 reported as voluntary presentations by private and public media and Internet websites, and                              
23 that the method and content of the initiatives, as well as the method of promotion, will be at                          
24 the discretion of each individual member.                                                                               
25       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Sarah Palin, Governor of                               
26 Alaska; the Honorable Emil Notti, Commissioner, Department of Commerce, Community,                                      
27 and Economic Development; the Honorable Joe Schmidt, Commissioner, Department of                                        
28 Corrections; the Honorable Roger Sampson, Commissioner, Department of Education and                                     
29 Early Development; the Honorable Karleen Jackson, Commissioner, Department of Health                                    
30 and Social Services; the Honorable Walt Monegan, Commissioner, Department of Public                                     
31 Safety; the Honorable Mark R. Hamilton, President, University of Alaska; Richard I. Mauer,                              

01 Chair, State Board of Education and Early Development; and all members of the Twenty-                                   
02 Fifth Alaska State Legislature.