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

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

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

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

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