Portland City Council Passes Resolution Endorsing Universal Health Care

The Portland, Maine, City Council on Nov. 19 voted 6-3 to pass a resolution endorsing universal health care in the state, the Portland Press Herald reports (Bouchard, Portland Press Herald, 11/20). Earlier this month, Portland voters approved a nonbinding referendum, calling on the the city council to send a resolution to the state Legislature in support of universal health care (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/7). The approved resolution, which commits the city to "work for efforts to develop a single-payer system," will now be forwarded to the state Legislature as a petition from Portland residents. The six council members who voted to pass the referendum said they hope "it will encourage the passage of universal health care in Maine and cut a path for the rest of the country to follow." Council members who voted against the resolution questioned whether a single-payer system would "fix what's wrong with health care in the United States" (Portland Press Herald, 11/20).