Full Text of SR0630 94th General Assembly
SR0630 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Medicare prescription drug benefit enacted in | 3 |
| 2003 took effect January 1, 2006, in the form of competing | 4 |
| "Medicare Part D" plans sold by private insurance companies; | 5 |
| and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Senior citizens are choosing from a wide array of | 7 |
| private plans in each geographic area, with a confusing variety | 8 |
| of plan designs and formularies; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, The law states that a Medicare plan's formulary | 10 |
| must cover just one brand name drug and one generic drug in | 11 |
| each therapeutic category - a minimal requirement that will | 12 |
| make it difficult for an older person to find all the drugs | 13 |
| he/she takes in a single plan; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, The drug plans will be allowed to switch the drugs | 15 |
| in their formularies on a regular basis, making it likely that | 16 |
| many seniors will sign up for a plan that covers a drug they | 17 |
| take, only to find out a few months later that the drug is no | 18 |
| longer covered by their plan; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, The drug plans will bargain with the drug | 20 |
| companies for lower prices, but instead of being required to | 21 |
| pass the discounts on to seniors, they will be allowed to use | 22 |
| the savings for advertising and overhead costs, or to increase | 23 |
| their profits; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Private drug plans will be unable to bargain | 25 |
| effectively, because the Medicare market will be divided among | 26 |
| hundreds of plans, diminishing the negotiating power of the | 27 |
| huge Medicare population; and
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| WHEREAS, A drug benefit that's run by the Medicare program | 29 |
| itself, rather than private insurance, could be given the |
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SR0630 |
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LRB094 18610 DRJ 53955 r |
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| authority to negotiate prices on behalf of all 44 million | 2 |
| beneficiaries - resulting in enormous buying power and the | 3 |
| ability to get the lowest prices possible; and
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| WHEREAS, This was born out by a recent study conducted by | 5 |
| Families USA (September 2005), which found that the lowest drug | 6 |
| prices negotiated by the private sponsors of the 2004/2005 | 7 |
| Medicare discount cards far exceeded the low prices routinely | 8 |
| negotiated by the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of | 9 |
| the nation's veteran population; and
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| WHEREAS, Seniors would not only benefit by the lower prices | 11 |
| of a Medicare-run drug plan, but many would find a Medicare | 12 |
| choice much less confusing than having to choose the most | 13 |
| appropriate plan from among the dozens being marketed by | 14 |
| private insurers; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 16 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we call upon the United | 17 |
| States Congress to enact a drug benefit for senior citizens | 18 |
| that is run by the Medicare program itself; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the United States Congress enact | 20 |
| legislation authorizing Medicare to negotiate directly with | 21 |
| the drug companies on behalf of its millions of beneficiaries, | 22 |
| in order to achieve the lowest prices possible; and be it | 23 |
| further | 24 |
| RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the | 25 |
| President of the United States, each member of the Illinois | 26 |
| Congressional delegation, the Speaker of the United States | 27 |
| House of Representatives, and the President of the United | 28 |
| States Senate.
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