Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0445
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Full Text of HR0445  100th General Assembly

HR0445ham001 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
HR0445HAM001LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 445

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Resolution 445 by replacing
3everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "On May 5, 2017, the United States House of Representatives
5passed H.R. 1628, otherwise known as the American Health Care
6Act (AHCA); and
 
7    WHEREAS, In March of 2017, the Congressional Budget Office
8estimated that 24 million people would lose health insurance if
9the AHCA were passed and implemented; of those 24 million
10people, 14 million are currently covered by Medicaid, which the
11AHCA would also slash by about $880 billion over 10 years,
12putting some of the poorest and most vulnerable citizens at
13great risk; and
 
14    WHEREAS, As a result of passage of the AHCA, Illinois could
15face a loss of $40 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 2 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1next 10 years, affecting over one million Illinois residents
2who currently have coverage under the Affordable Care Act; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Currently, Illinois is ranked 50th in the nation
4for capturing federal Medicaid dollars putting the State in an
5extremely vulnerable position and unable to absorb more costs
6from the federal government; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The AHCA also allows states to waive community
8rating, which bans insurers from charging higher premiums to
9those with pre-existing conditions and would result in much
10higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions; and
 
11    WHEREAS, As a result of waiving the ban on pre-existing
12conditions, the cost of insurance will increase for people with
13pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis,
14autistic disorder, seizures, asthma, kidney disease, and
15children with disabilities; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The AHCA also has a provision letting states waive
17essential health benefits such as outpatient care, emergency
18services, hospitalization, pregnancy, maternity, newborn care,
19mental health and substance use disorder services, and
20pediatric services; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Waiving of essential benefits puts mothers and

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 3 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1children at severe risk of losing coverage as plans on the
2individual market can once again decide not to cover maternity
3care as a result of the AHCA; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The law would also adopt a policy known as a "per
5capita cap" for Medicaid that would replace the current funding
6mechanism and rather than matching state spending; the AHCA
7would give each state a set amount of money per person and
8place specific caps for differing populations such as the
9people with disabilities, the elderly, and other at-risk
10populations; and
 
11    WHEREAS, As a result of placing a cap on spending, people
12with disabilities who rely on home and community based services
13through Medicaid, such as personal-attendant care, skilled
14nursing, and specialized therapies could lose access to the
15services they need in order to live independently and remain in
16their homes; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The AHCA also places the elderly at risk; as
18states continue to see rising populations as a result of the
19baby boom generation, implementing a per capita cap on spending
20may restrict states' abilities to keep up with the demand for
21services resulting in premature institutionalization, lack of
22services, and reduced quality of life for our seniors; and
 

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 4 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1    WHEREAS, The AHCA poses a threat for persons with substance
2abuse disorders; the opioid crisis in Illinois has placed a
3heavier burden on the State's Medicaid program and has resulted
4in an immense need for increased services; a per capita cap
5will limit the State's ability to leverage additional monies in
6times of crises or epidemic, further hampering the State's
7ability to be responsive to the needs of its most vulnerable
8populations during the most critical times; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The law allows states to impose work requirements
10on those applying for Medicaid, which has not been proven to
11increase employment among the poor and will meaningfully reduce
12access to care for low income families; and
 
13    WHEREAS, On June 22, 2017, the United States Senate
14introduced a proposed amendment for discussion to H.R. 1628,
15known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017; and
 
16    WHEREAS, While the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017
17contains changes to the original AHCA, the new proposed
18amendment still contains significant cuts to both state
19Medicaid programs as well as state healthcare exchanges and
20continues to put some of the poorest and most vulnerable
21citizens at great risk; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The legislation results in over 22 million people

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 5 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1losing their insurance coverage, and reduces spending on
2healthcare services by over $700 billion while also providing
3over $541 billion in tax breaks for extremely wealthy
4individuals and corporations; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017
6continues to propose elimination of health insurance coverage
7for the Medicaid expansion population in Illinois, thus
8completely eliminating healthcare coverage for over 650,000
9Illinoisans who currently only have insurance as a result of
10the State's decision to expand Medicaid; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The act also continues to pursue "per capita caps"
12for Medicaid severely placing billions of dollars in federal
13funding in jeopardy for Illinois which may result in
14elimination of services, reductions in services offered, rate
15cuts for providers, or limiting coverage of high cost
16enrollees; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 reduces
18the amount of subsidies to persons who purchase health
19insurance on the healthcare exchange, and reduces the amount of
20persons eligible to receive the subsidies for exchange plans
21that provide less health insurance plans and contain higher
22deductibles than current healthcare plans on the exchange; and
 

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 6 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1    WHEREAS, The act continues its attack on healthcare for
2women by reducing access to family planning services and
3maternity care services, and allowing insurance companies to
4charge higher premiums for women; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 also
6places seniors at an even higher risk of losing nursing home
7care than the AHCA as a result of eliminations of presumptive
8eligibility for Medicaid recipients to obtain benefits and
9retroactive eligibility for Medicaid recipients to get paid for
10services they have already received; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 also
12continues to allow states to waive essential health benefits as
13provided under the Affordable Care Act, continually placing
14many people at risk of losing the most basic healthcare
15benefits such as maternity care, mental health care, substance
16abuse and opioid treatment, and pharmacy benefits; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The true intention of both policies are revealed
18in the provisions that create financial incentives for states
19to increase Medicaid redeterminations in order to kick people
20off of the Medicaid program, and financial incentives for
21states to reduce the amount of healthcare services provided by
22Medicaid; and
 

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 7 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1    WHEREAS, The Governor has yet to officially take a position
2on the American Health Care Act or the Better Care
3Reconciliation Act of 2017, despite the fact that both stand to
4negatively affect millions of Illinois residents and cause
5major financial harm to the State's budget and the broader
6system of healthcare across Illinois; and
 
7    WHEREAS, When the Governor has been asked to provide a
8position on the American Health Care Act or the Better Care
9Reconciliation Act of 2017, he has continually dodged the
10question, refused to provide a direct answer, or attempted to
11circumvent any responsibility for these proposed policies; and
 
12    WHEREAS, As the Governor has the supreme executive power in
13the State under the Illinois Constitution, it is imperative
14that he directly provide guidance to our Congressional
15delegation and the people of Illinois regarding his position on
16the American Healthcare Act and the Better Care Reconciliation
17Act of 2017, both of which will have a disastrous effect on the
18poorest and neediest persons in the State and will devastate
19the critical social safety net they rely on; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Medicare is a federal health insurance program
21that currently pays for a variety of health care expenses for
22senior citizens aged 65 and older and people with certain other
23qualifying conditions only; and
 

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 8 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1    WHEREAS, Medicare currently insures over 55 million
2Americans, and nearly everyone over age 65; in Illinois alone,
3over 2 million people receive Medicare benefits; and
 
4    WHEREAS, There have been recent legislative efforts at the
5federal level to expand Medicare for all persons in the United
6States, not just those currently eligible which would provide
7coverage for all medically necessary services, including
8doctors' visits, hospital care, prevention programs, long-term
9care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision,
10prescription drug, and medical supply costs; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Children (unmarried and under age 22) can only
12receive Medicare if they are disabled or have a qualifying
13condition and make up less than 7% of the current population of
14people on Medicare; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Expanding the federal Medicare program to those
16who need care the most can be a positive step to strengthen our
17nation's commitment to improving the health and safety of all
18Americans and reduce the risk of cuts posed by the AHCA and the
19Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, to those that are most
20vulnerable; therefore be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE

 

 

HR0445HAM001- 9 -LRB100 12760 MST 27783 a

1HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
2strongly urge the federal government, the United States
3Congress, and the President of the United States, to oppose the
4American Health Care Act, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of
52017, or any other legislative efforts that would reduce access
6to healthcare for low-income and at-risk populations and to
7expand the federal Medicare program for people most in need
8especially children, women, and those with pre-existing
9conditions, that are put at extreme risk as a result of passage
10of either the American Health Care Act or the Better Care
11Reconciliation Act of 2017; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we strongly urge the Governor of the state
13of Illinois to be responsive to the needs of Illinois residents
14and directly engage with the President of the United States,
15and Republican members of the Illinois Congressional
16delegation regarding the devastating consequences associated
17with both the American Health Care Act and the Better Care
18Reconciliation Act of 2017; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
20delivered to the Governor of the State of Illinois, the
21Illinois Congressional delegation, the United States Congress,
22and the President of the United States."