HR0628 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION

2 WHEREAS, The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and

3 Modernization Act of 2003 was signed into law on December 8,

4 2003; and

5 WHEREAS, In 2001 the United States spent $140.6 billion on

6 prescription drugs, with Medicare spending $2.4 billion on

7 prescription drugs; and

8 WHEREAS, The high cost of prescription drugs places an

9 extraordinarily heavy burden on elderly persons and persons

10 with disabilities who live on fixed incomes; and

11 WHEREAS, It remains crucial for Congress and each of the

12 state legislatures to respond to this health care crisis in a

13 timely yet thoughtful manner; and

14 WHEREAS, The enacted federal Medicare Prescription Drug

15 Bill does not adequately meet the needs of Illinois senior

16 citizens and persons with disabilities; it offers less

17 assistance than our current State prescription drug programs

18 offer; and

19 WHEREAS, The enacted federal Medicare Prescription Drug

20 Bill includes a complicated drug benefit and fails to lower

21 drug prices; and

22 WHEREAS, The enacted federal Medicare Prescription Drug

23 Bill will adversely affect elderly persons and persons with

24 disabilities who currently receive prescription drug coverage

25 and other benefits under the Illinois Medicaid Program;

26 therefore, be it

27 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

28 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

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1 call upon the United States Congress to amend the federal

2 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act

3 of 2003, and we further urge the United States Congress not to

4 pass any measure that fails to do less for its senior citizens

5 than does the current Illinois drug prescription program; and

6 be it further

7 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to each

8 member of the Illinois Congressional delegation.