Full Text of HR0537 100th General Assembly
HR0537 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Medicare Rights Center (MRC) published | 3 | | "Medicare: A National Treasure for Forty Years" (2005); the | 4 | | Medicare program was created as part of the Social Security | 5 | | Amendments of 1965, and the program will celebrate its 52th | 6 | | anniversary on July 29, 2017; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The MRC's findings are still valid, to wit: the | 8 | | Medicare program has become a national treasure, reflecting the | 9 | | nation's commitment to the health and independence of older | 10 | | Americans and Americans with disabilities by providing health | 11 | | care coverage to 45 million people; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The original design of the Medicare program - its | 13 | | universality, shared risk, simplicity, and dependability - | 14 | | created the foundation for its 50 years of success; Medicare's | 15 | | universal nature ensures that virtually all older Americans and | 16 | | many people with disabilities receive the health care they | 17 | | need, while Medicare pools risk in order to share the financial | 18 | | burdens of illness across healthy and sick individuals and | 19 | | affluent and low-income families; for 50 years, Medicare has | 20 | | guaranteed coverage for a defined set of benefits at a uniform | 21 | | and predictable cost to all seniors and to people with | 22 | | disabilities regardless of their income, health status, or | 23 | | where they live and has dramatically improved the quality of |
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| 1 | | life for millions of individuals; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Among the most important reasons to celebrate the | 3 | | past 50 years of Medicare are: (1) guaranteed access to care | 4 | | for people with Medicare; (2) improved quality of life for | 5 | | older Americans and people with disabilities; (3) | 6 | | administrative efficiency and cost containment; (4) critical | 7 | | support for America's healthcare system; and (5) guaranteed | 8 | | benefits and choice of providers; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Prior to Medicare, only half of older adults had | 10 | | health insurance; private insurers were unable or unwilling to | 11 | | provide comprehensive, affordable health care coverage to the | 12 | | growing aged population, who were either too old or too sick | 13 | | and therefore too high an insurance risk; through the guarantee | 14 | | of Medicare coverage, the federal government established | 15 | | protections for all people with Medicare that ensure that | 16 | | everyone - including those battling costly illnesses - have | 17 | | access to covered services; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Medicare is the second largest source of federal | 19 | | spending for HIV care and
treatment, and approximately one out | 20 | | of every five HIV-positive Americans receiving
regular medical | 21 | | care depends, at least in part, on the Medicare program; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Medicare has also improved access to care in other |
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| 1 | | ways; for example,
Medicare was, and continues to be, | 2 | | instrumental in reducing disparities in access and
coverage for | 3 | | racial and ethnic minority groups; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, A 2001 survey demonstrates that people with | 5 | | Medicare are
generally more satisfied with their health care | 6 | | than are persons under age 65 who are
covered by private | 7 | | insurance; people with Medicare report fewer problems getting | 8 | | access
to care, greater confidence about their access, and | 9 | | fewer instances of financial hardship as
a result of medical | 10 | | bills; Medicare creates access to health care across many | 11 | | dimensions: access to physician services; access to necessary | 12 | | care; and reduced financial barriers to care; older Americans | 13 | | with Medicare experience comparatively fewer financial | 14 | | barriers to care; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, By the year 2030, 20% of the U.S. population - 77 | 16 | | million people - will be eligible for Medicare, compared to the | 17 | | 14% of Americans who are Medicare-eligible today; while | 18 | | Medicare gives all Americans a sense of security knowing their | 19 | | parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors can access the | 20 | | health care they need, before long the next generation of | 21 | | Americans will need to count on Medicare too; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Thanks to Medicare, millions of Americans are able | 23 | | to afford life-saving care, but Medicare also improves the |
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| 1 | | quality of life for older Americans in other ways; for example, | 2 | | Medicare is also a social safety net that has lifted millions | 3 | | of people out of
poverty; in fact, since Medicare was created | 4 | | in 1965, poverty among the elderly has been
reduced by nearly | 5 | | two-thirds; by financing health care services, Medicare | 6 | | safeguards
beneficiaries and their families from the ruinous | 7 | | costs of medical treatments and prevents
individuals from | 8 | | spending unmanageable proportions of their incomes on medical | 9 | | care or
being pushed into poverty by their medical bills; in | 10 | | addition, life expectancy has increased by three years and more | 11 | | people are living past the age of 85 than ever before,
while | 12 | | disability rates among the elderly are decreasing; with | 13 | | improvements in Medicare
coverage for preventive services, | 14 | | such as breast and prostate cancer screening, and
advances in | 15 | | care management for people with chronic conditions, further | 16 | | reductions in
morbidity and disability can be expected; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Equally important in assessing Medicare's success | 18 | | is
Medicare's cost-effectiveness; Medicare has consistently | 19 | | contained health care costs better than private health plans; | 20 | | analysis of cumulative spending over a 30-year period further | 21 | | illustrates Medicare's ability to control costs over time; | 22 | | Medicare has been able to accomplish this cost-containment | 23 | | record, in part, by using its resources more efficiently, | 24 | | assessing the clinical effectiveness of services when making | 25 | | coverage decisions and when setting payment rates for certain |
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| 1 | | services; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Medicare's payment structure supports the United | 3 | | States' health system
infrastructure; for example, Medicare | 4 | | supports the nation's teaching hospitals and
educational | 5 | | opportunities for health care professionals, through enhanced | 6 | | payments; by
supporting graduate education for physicians and | 7 | | other providers, Medicare benefits all
Americans, whether or | 8 | | not they are covered by Medicare; Medicare also provides extra
| 9 | | support to hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of | 10 | | low-income patients and to
rural hospitals, which are often | 11 | | more heavily dependent on Medicare reimbursement than
other | 12 | | facilities; Medicare also provides enhanced payments to rural | 13 | | health clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers in | 14 | | medically underserved
areas to ensure that care is available | 15 | | for vulnerable people; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Medicare is the largest single payer for services | 17 | | provided by the 7,000
home health agencies nationwide; | 18 | | moreover, Medicare is an essential part of the entire U.S. | 19 | | economy as well as a pillar of the health system; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Medicare is simple, popular and reliable; seniors | 21 | | are very satisfied with the Medicare program; Medicare's | 22 | | success is related to the unparalleled choice and availability | 23 | | of physicians and health care services that it offers people; |
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| 1 | | and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Medicare has served Americans well; it is equally | 3 | | available to all seniors and to people with disabilities, | 4 | | regardless of health or financial status, and realizes the | 5 | | right to health care for many of America's most vulnerable | 6 | | individuals; Medicare continues to symbolize a rational, just | 7 | | and systematic approach to health care access for all | 8 | | Americans; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, | 10 | | Improvement, and
Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) has prompted | 11 | | significant changes to the Medicare
program; the MMA | 12 | | established a new outpatient prescription drug benefit - | 13 | | Medicare
Part D - for people with Medicare coverage, and | 14 | | replaced Medicaid drug coverage
with the new Part D program for | 15 | | people who receive health coverage from both Medicare
and | 16 | | Medicaid; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 18 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 19 | | celebrate the past 50 years of Medicare and urge the United | 20 | | States Congress to make sure that the millions of seniors and | 21 | | Americans with disabilities who rely on it will be able to | 22 | | enjoy its dependability and simplicity in the years to come; | 23 | | Medicare's successes to date should guide future changes to the |
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| 1 | | program, so that it can continue to ensure access to care, | 2 | | improve quality of life, support the health care system, and | 3 | | enjoy broad support among the people whom it helps every day; | 4 | | and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That strengthening Medicare and improving the | 6 | | Medicare Part D drug program should be a vital part of any | 7 | | reform of the American health care system; and be it further | 8 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 9 | | delivered to President Donald Trump and each member of the | 10 | | Illinois congressional delegation.
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