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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The purpose of the Veteran's Administration is, in
3the words of Abraham Lincoln, "To care for him who shall have
4borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan"; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Veterans Administration provides health care
6to many veterans through its 1,250 health care facilities,
7including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,069 outpatient sites;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, After serving our country, our veterans have
10earned the very best healthcare possible, something the
11Veteran's Administrations has pledged to provide; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Despite providing various types of healthcare to
13over nine million veterans, the Veteran's Health
14Administration (VHA) fails to provide dental care to most of
15those veterans; and
 
16    WHEREAS, According to the VHA's own statistics, while over
17nine million veterans are eligible for healthcare under the
18VHA, only about 500,000, or 5.6%, of those are receiving dental
19care, as the qualifications to receive full dental care require
20that a veteran be 100% disabled or have been a POW; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, While veterans are able to purchase dental
2insurance through the VA Dental Insurance Program (VADIP), it
3is not an affordable option, leaving veterans with no other
4choice but to live with rotted teeth and other signs of a lack
5of dental care; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Dental health has been proven to affect other
7aspects of health, and poor dental care is associated with
8pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and heart disease;
9good dental care can prevent many serious health issues and
10would allow the VA to save money by eliminating the cost of
11treating future diseases; and
 
12    WHEREAS, According to the 2016 Oral Health in Illinois
13Report, in 2015, over one third of adults in Illinois (36%)
14reported not having visited the dentist in the past year, with
15lack of insurance being one of the barriers to dental care; and
 
16    WHEREAS, H.R. 96 introduced by U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley
17would amend Title 38, USC, to require the Veteran's
18Administration to furnish dental care in the same manner as any
19other medical service, giving more veterans access to the full
20dental care that they severely need; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
22HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE

 

 

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1SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize the right of all
2veterans to have full coverage for dental care; and be it
3further
 
4    RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Congressional
5Delegation to co-sponsor H.R. 96 and support it in any manner
6possible to ensure that our veterans receive the proper and
7sufficient dental care that they deserve; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9delivered to all members of the Illinois Congressional
10Delegation.