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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Nationally, approximately 40 percent of persons
3 aged 65 and over will eventually need long-term care, with an
4 average stay of 2.5 years at a cost ranging from $30,000 to
5 $65,000 annually; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Our nation's current financing structure relies
7 too heavily on individuals and families to bear the financial
8 burden of long-term supportive services; the financial burden
9 can be so large that, for many individuals, particularly those
10 with moderate income, the only alternative is Medicaid, which
11 requires spending down all assets in order to qualify to
12 receive long-term care benefits; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Medicare does not cover expenses for long-term
14 care patients; Medicaid is the largest source of funding for
15 long-term care in the United States, and is considered a
16 lifeline for many vulnerable Americans; in 2004, Medicaid paid
17 for 49 percent of the total amount spent on long-term care
18 services, making the financing of long-term care costs a
19 significant issue for both state and federal budgets; the
20 growth in spending by the federal government and states for
21 long-term care services through Medicaid will continue to
22 increase as the American population ages; and
 
23     WHEREAS, As a possible solution to spiraling Medicaid
24 growth, the "Long-Term Care Partnership program," which is a
25 public-private partnership between states and private
26 insurance companies, began in 1987 as a demonstration project
27 with the intent of (1) encouraging and recognizing planning for
28 long-term care, especially among the moderate income
29 individuals, and (2) reducing the future reliance on Medicaid
30 as a funding source for long-term care services; four states
31 participated in the demonstration project: California,
32 Connecticut, Indiana, and New York; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, To date, the four states have seen savings in
2 health care bills and, more importantly, have been able to
3 offer more affordable long-term care policies to middle income
4 individuals; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Although the federal Omnibus Budget
6 Reconciliation Act of 1993 recognized the four initial states'
7 long-term care partnership programs, the Act restricted the
8 expansion of the program to other states because of (1)
9 concerns that there were not enough consumer protections in the
10 partnerships, (2) perceptions that only the lowest income
11 individuals should qualify for Medicaid, and (3) concerns that
12 the linkage between the public and private sectors placed
13 extensive public responsibility to ensure the fairness,
14 viability, and quality of the private insurance products; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Over the last 10 years, twenty-one states have
16 passed long-term care partnership legislation in anticipation
17 that the federal government would eventually allow
18 partnerships to exist beyond the four demonstration project
19 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
20 Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri,
21 Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
22 Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington; and
 
23      WHEREAS, In February 2006, the federal Deficit Reduction
24 Act of 2005 was enacted to allow all states the option to enact
25 long-term partnership policies as long as the policies follow
26 federal tax qualifications, consumer protections, and
27 inflation protections; and
 
28     WHEREAS, Illinois should investigate the possibility of
29 implementing a Long-Term Care Partnership program to give low
30 and moderate income individuals affordable options to protect
31 their assets and to reduce Illinois' Medicaid program

 

 

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1 expenditures; therefore, be it
 
2     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4 there is created the Task Force on Long-Term Care Partnerships,
5 consisting of 10 members appointed as follows: (1) Five members
6 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, three
7 of whom shall be General Assembly members, with one of those
8 three designated as a co-chairman of the Task Force at the time
9 of appointment, and two of whom shall be public members; and
10 (2) five members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House
11 of Representatives, three of whom shall be General Assembly
12 members, with one of those three designated as a co-chairman of
13 the Task Force at the time of appointment, and two of whom
14 shall be public members; the Director of Financial and
15 Professional Regulation and the Director of Healthcare and
16 Family Services shall serve as ex officio members; the
17 appointments shall be made by January 1, 2007; and be it
18 further
 
19     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall (1) investigate
20 Illinois' current funding structure of long-term care and its
21 impact on lower and moderate income individuals; (2) research
22 the status of the programs implemented by the four states
23 administering long-term care partnerships; (3) analyze federal
24 criteria to implement a long-term care partnership and the
25 impact it would have on Illinois' Medicaid Plan; and (4)
26 consider the social and economic benefits of enacting a
27 Long-Term Care Partnership program in Illinois; and be it
28 further
 
29     RESOLVED, That the Department of Financial and
30 Professional Regulation's Division of Insurance shall provide
31 staff support to the Task Force, as necessary; and be it
32 further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings and
2 recommendations to the House of Representatives by March 31,
3 2007; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to
5 the directors of the Department of Financial and Professional
6 Regulation and the Department of Healthcare and Family
7 Services.