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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Due to federal health care reform, an integrated
3care pilot program in Northern Illinois, and statewide Medicaid
4reform, a managed care approach to providing Medicaid coverage
5is no longer up for debate making Medicaid managed care a
6reality in Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Managed care has proven a sometimes inefficient
8provider of health care coverage especially for long-term care
9and those individuals - typically the elderly or people with
10disabilities - receiving it; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Illinois' pilot program and the recent Medicaid
12reform law make it mandatory for managed care to provide the
13services expected in a long-term care setting, which is a
14potentially risky scenario for those receiving these kinds of
15services; and
 
16    WHEREAS, A number of other states have discontinued managed
17care for people with disabilities and the elderly, including
18California which found it more cost-effective not to utilize
19managed care after an extensive overhaul of the state's health
20care program; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is setting forth on this

 

 

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1venture with two for-profit managed care organizations under
2contract, while not exploring other entities to provide quality
3care, such as not-for-profit organizations; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Institute on Disability and Human Development
5at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is overseeing
6the consumer satisfaction levels and the managed care
7organizations' competency for the test population in the pilot
8program; nonetheless, only an estimated 40,000 individuals
9with disabilities are in the pilot program area and targeted to
10receive services; as Illinois Medicaid reform and federal
11health care reform become the norm for Medicaid recipients in
12this State, a conservative estimate is that 2.4 million people
13currently receive Medicaid, and approximately 1.2 million
14people - or 50% of the Medicaid population - under that program
15will move into a managed care system, as mandated by the
16Illinois Medicaid reform law; this increased number will not
17receive monitoring from UIC and, possibly, will not receive the
18adequate follow-up, thereby, leaving them more susceptible to
19fraudulent practices, abuse, neglect, and insufficient care
20through providers and the managed care organizations; as
21Illinois moves toward transitioning 50% of the Medicaid
22population to a managed care system, as with the pilot program,
23no other plans except those involving for-profit managed care
24organizations are presently receiving serious discussion;
25therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3there is created in the Department of Healthcare and Family
4Services the Medicaid Managed Care Oversight Task Force to
5monitor how Illinois approaches and manages a new form of
6health care delivery system based on a managed care model,
7particularly for people with disabilities and the elderly; and
8be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the
10following: (1) 3 members, appointed by the Speaker of the
11Illinois House of Representatives; (2) 3 members, appointed by
12the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives;
13and (3) 4 members, appointed by the Governor; the Task Force
14shall elect a chairperson from their membership; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That the Department of Healthcare and Family
17Services shall facilitate the Task Force and provide the Task
18Force with administrative support, but shall have no hand in
19guiding its direction or ascertaining its results; the Task
20Force shall meet quarterly and report on its findings to the
21General Assembly and its appropriate committees; reports from
22the Task Force shall indicate (i) whether individuals within
23the pilot program and the intended 50% of Medicaid recipients

 

 

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1transitioned into managed care are satisfied with their health
2outcomes, can access all necessary forms of medical care, and
3received all necessary information from the State and the
4Department regarding the changes to their health care delivery
5system; and (ii) any other satisfaction indicators deemed
6applicable by the Task Force, especially with the knowledge of
7how UIC conducted satisfaction surveys; the Task Force's life
8span shall continue until January 1, 2017, unless the General
9Assembly deems a longer tenure necessary, as that date would
10mark the two-year anniversary of the transition of Medicaid
11enrollees into managed care programs, as mandated by the newly
12enacted Medicaid reform law in Illinois; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That upon receiving reports from the Task Force,
14the General Assembly and all appropriate committees therein
15must take the necessary steps to ensure all individuals
16receiving health care through a managed care delivery system
17are satisfied with that care and are not receiving worse care
18as a result; if the General Assembly finds negative outcomes
19per reports from the Task Force, it should amend the process by
20which managed care is put to use for Medicaid recipients,
21especially for people with disabilities and the elderly, and
22further, if the reports are positive or neutral, the General
23Assembly should decide whether to continue monitoring the
24program for a set period to ensure that all recipients receive
25the best quality health care available to them under a managed

 

 

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1care process; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That as changes to health care delivery improve
3or changes come to pass based on new laws passed by the State
4or federal government, the General Assembly must decide if
5continuing the use of the managed care approach is the most
6appropriate, cost-effective, and beneficial means in providing
7health care to Medicaid recipients in Illinois; and be it
8further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10delivered to the Governor and to the Director of the Department
11of Healthcare and Family Services.