HR1050 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1050 LRB094 19861 DRJ 56997 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) currently operates an extremely valuable, productive Datawarehouse, providing the agency with unmatched capability and reliability in understanding its various Medicaid programs; and

WHEREAS, This comprehensive understanding of the program has allowed the agency to implement program efficiencies worth hundreds of millions of dollars; and

WHEREAS, Segments of Medicaid as well as other State-operated healthcare programs providing essential benefits to thousands of Illinois citizens and that are, ideally, designed to be interdependent with Medicaid, reside at other State agencies and, unfortunately, operate in almost complete isolation, consequently producing sub-optimal healthcare outcomes for the most chronically ill of Illinois citizens; and

WHEREAS, Given the current fiscal climate, it is absolutely critical that scarce State dollars be invested as wisely as possible so as to produce optimal health outcomes for Illinois citizens; and

WHEREAS, Comprehensive information exchange among State agencies allows for better management, leading to better health outcomes and more efficient use of State resources; and

WHEREAS, To cite a significant example, of the 75,000 annual Medicaid births, fully 1/3, that is 25,000, are deemed non-normal; and

WHEREAS, These 25,000 non-normal births, aside from the onerous toll extracted on the child, cost the State over $200 million annually; and

WHEREAS, In this day and age, it is completely unacceptable that 25,000 babies each and every year are subjected to this misery and distress when we already have at our disposal the tools that, properly utilized, would alleviate this tragedy; and

WHEREAS, Integrating the currently isolated Women, Infants and Children data residing exclusively at the Department of Human Services (DHS) into the Datawarehouse would allow the State to identify and proactively assist these most-at-risk pregnant women; and

WHEREAS, Such proactive data management, coupled with targeted outreach efforts, may halve the number of non-normal births, thus saving $100 million; and

WHEREAS, There are dozens of additional examples of currently isolated programs that, if incorporated into the Datawarehouse, would dramatically improve Illinoisan health outcomes while preserving millions of scarce State dollars; and

WHEREAS, The original vision - and the most logical end - for the Datawarehouse is that of a comprehensive repository allowing for one-stop service, thereby facilitating the most effective and cost-efficient manner of providing healthcare to our clients; and

WHEREAS, Such an expansion would predominantly be funded by the federal government; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 94-0267, effective July 19, 2005, mandated an expansion of the Datawarehouse to encompass all other isolated healthcare data sources at DHS and the Department of Public Health, and yet, perplexingly, absolutely no movement has been made toward this end; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that owing it to Illinois taxpayers and, most importantly, to the very individuals who rely heavily on all of us in State government, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall immediately expand the superlative Datawarehouse, incorporating currently isolated healthcare data residing at other State agencies, so as to effectuate significantly improved health outcomes for the neediest of our citizens; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Director of Healthcare and Family Services and to the Governor.