HR0433 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, There are nearly 30,000 Illinoisans living with HIV/AIDS and most struggle to obtain adequate basic health care, stable housing, and food; and

WHEREAS, The federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act has been critical to meeting these needs in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The State, city of Chicago, and private providers currently receive more than $35,000,000 annually to provide counseling services, primary health care, dental care, mental health services, substance abuse services, drug reimbursement, legal services, nutrition counseling, and food; and

WHEREAS, Congress created the Ryan White CARE Act in 1990 and it must be reauthorized every 5 years, this year Congress must reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act by September 30, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Some in Congress would refocus the Ryan White CARE Act to allow only medically related services, eliminating services such as legal assistance, housing support, and food; and

WHEREAS, Without legal assistance, housing support, nutrition counseling, and food, Illinoisans living with HIV/AIDS will be unable to adhere to their complex medical regimens, unable to sustain their health, and die; and

WHEREAS, The sick will be forced into hospitals for complex and expensive health care paid for by U.S. Medicaid and the State, and the State will pay for more intensive and expensive health interventions than the Ryan White CARE Act provides; and

WHEREAS, Private and non-profit organizations throughout the State have created effective and efficient services to help people living with HIV/AIDS obtain health care, secure stable housing, address mental health and substance abuse, and support medical regimens through quality and nutritious food; and

WHEREAS, The organizations' efforts, funded primarily through the Ryan White CARE Act, will be jeopardized; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Congress of the United States of America to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act this year in its current format, with its current language, and with its current funding under local control for supportive services such as legal assistance, housing support, and food; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Governor Rod Blagojevich, and each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.