Full Text of HR0674 93rd General Assembly
HR0674 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, A study cited by the U.S. Senate Special Committee | 3 |
| on Aging indicates that 60% of individuals who reach the age of | 4 |
| 65 will eventually face the need for long term care; and
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| WHEREAS, A one-year stay in a nursing home can cost | 6 |
| anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 and the average length of a | 7 |
| stay is about 2.5 years; and
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| WHEREAS, Medicaid, the federal-state partnership, now pays | 9 |
| most nursing home costs for people with limited incomes and | 10 |
| assets; and
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| WHEREAS, In an effort to increase the number of individuals | 12 |
| purchasing long term care insurance, the State of Illinois | 13 |
| enacted the Long Term Care Partnership Act to provide for asset | 14 |
| protection for individuals who purchase private long term care | 15 |
| insurance; and
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| WHEREAS, The purpose of long term care partnership programs | 17 |
| is to provide incentives to individuals to purchase long term | 18 |
| care insurance and, consequently, to relieve the financial | 19 |
| burdens on the State when the State assumes payment for the | 20 |
| long term care needs of citizens under the Medicaid program by | 21 |
| allowing individuals who exhaust private qualified private | 22 |
| long term care policy benefits to protect an equivalent value | 23 |
| of assets and still satisfy Medicaid's financial eligibility | 24 |
| requirements; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Long Term Care Partnership Act is | 26 |
| similar to programs currently operational in California, | 27 |
| Connecticut, Indiana, and New York, but due to federal | 28 |
| provisions contained in what is commonly referred to as the | 29 |
| "Waxman Amendment" to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of | 30 |
| 1993, the asset protections in Illinois do not extend to the |
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| estate of an individual; and
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| WHEREAS, The "Waxman Amendment" provisions contained in | 3 |
| Section 1396p of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. | 4 |
| 1396p(b)(1)(C)) have effectively removed the major incentive | 5 |
| for individuals to participate in the Long Term Care | 6 |
| Partnership program in Illinois; and
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| WHEREAS, The states that have had fully operational | 8 |
| partnership plans for almost a decade have experienced | 9 |
| significant savings to taxpayers because, out of 66,000 | 10 |
| policies in force, only 28 policyholders to date have exhausted | 11 |
| their long term care insurance benefits and accessed benefits | 12 |
| under the Medicaid program; and
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| WHEREAS, Legislation is pending in the 108th Congress, in | 14 |
| the form of H.R. 1406, that would allow the asset protections | 15 |
| currently in place for the Long Term Care Partnership Programs | 16 |
| operating in California, Connecticut, Indiana, and New York to | 17 |
| be extended to programs in other states; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 |
| that we support and urge efforts by the United States Congress | 21 |
| to repeal provisions contained in the Omnibus Budget | 22 |
| Reconciliation Act of 1993 that limit the ability of states to | 23 |
| operate effective Long Term Care Partnership programs; and be | 24 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 26 |
| delivered to each member of the Illinois Congressional | 27 |
| delegation, the Speaker of the United States House of | 28 |
| Representatives, and the Majority Leader of the United States | 29 |
| Senate.
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