Full Text of HR1376 094th General Assembly
HR1376 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Nationally, approximately 40 percent of persons | 3 |
| aged 65 and over will eventually need long-term care, with an | 4 |
| average stay of 2.5 years at a cost ranging from $30,000 to | 5 |
| $65,000 annually; and
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| WHEREAS, Our nation's current financing structure relies | 7 |
| too heavily on individuals and families to bear the financial | 8 |
| burden of long-term supportive services; the financial burden | 9 |
| can be so large that, for many individuals, particularly those | 10 |
| with moderate income, the only alternative is Medicaid, which | 11 |
| requires spending down all assets in order to qualify to | 12 |
| receive long-term care benefits; and
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| WHEREAS, Medicare does not cover expenses for long-term | 14 |
| care patients; Medicaid is the largest source of funding for | 15 |
| long-term care in the United States, and is considered a | 16 |
| lifeline for many vulnerable Americans; in 2004, Medicaid paid | 17 |
| for 49 percent of the total amount spent on long-term care | 18 |
| services, making the financing of long-term care costs a | 19 |
| significant issue for both state and federal budgets; the | 20 |
| growth in spending by the federal government and states for | 21 |
| long-term care services through Medicaid will continue to | 22 |
| increase as the American population ages; and
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| WHEREAS, As a possible solution to spiraling Medicaid | 24 |
| growth, the "Long-Term Care Partnership program," which is a | 25 |
| public-private partnership between states and private | 26 |
| insurance companies, began in 1987 as a demonstration project | 27 |
| with the intent of (1) encouraging and recognizing planning for | 28 |
| long-term care, especially among the moderate income | 29 |
| individuals, and (2) reducing the future reliance on Medicaid | 30 |
| as a funding source for long-term care services; four states | 31 |
| participated in the demonstration project: California, | 32 |
| Connecticut, Indiana, and New York; and
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| WHEREAS, To date, the four states have seen savings in | 2 |
| health care bills and, more importantly, have been able to | 3 |
| offer more affordable long-term care policies to middle income | 4 |
| individuals; and
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| WHEREAS, Although the federal Omnibus Budget | 6 |
| Reconciliation Act of 1993 recognized the four initial states' | 7 |
| long-term care partnership programs, the Act restricted the | 8 |
| expansion of the program to other states because of (1) | 9 |
| concerns that there were not enough consumer protections in the | 10 |
| partnerships, (2) perceptions that only the lowest income | 11 |
| individuals should qualify for Medicaid, and (3) concerns that | 12 |
| the linkage between the public and private sectors placed | 13 |
| extensive public responsibility to ensure the fairness, | 14 |
| viability, and quality of the private insurance products; and
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| WHEREAS, Over the last 10 years, twenty-one states have | 16 |
| passed long-term care partnership legislation in anticipation | 17 |
| that the federal government would eventually allow | 18 |
| partnerships to exist beyond the four demonstration project | 19 |
| states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, | 20 |
| Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, | 21 |
| Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, | 22 |
| Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington; and | 23 |
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WHEREAS, In February 2006, the federal Deficit Reduction | 24 |
| Act of 2005 was enacted to allow all states the option to enact | 25 |
| long-term partnership policies as long as the policies follow | 26 |
| federal tax qualifications, consumer protections, and | 27 |
| inflation protections; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois should investigate the possibility of | 29 |
| implementing a Long-Term Care Partnership program to give low | 30 |
| and moderate income individuals affordable options to protect | 31 |
| their assets and to reduce Illinois' Medicaid program |
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| expenditures; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 |
| there is created the Task Force on Long-Term Care Partnerships, | 5 |
| consisting of 10 members appointed as follows: (1) Five members | 6 |
| appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, three | 7 |
| of whom shall be General Assembly members, with one of those | 8 |
| three designated as a co-chairman of the Task Force at the time | 9 |
| of appointment, and two of whom shall be public members; and | 10 |
| (2) five members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House | 11 |
| of Representatives, three of whom shall be General Assembly | 12 |
| members, with one of those three designated as a co-chairman of | 13 |
| the Task Force at the time of appointment, and two of whom | 14 |
| shall be public members; the Director of Financial and | 15 |
| Professional Regulation and the Director of Healthcare and | 16 |
| Family Services shall serve as ex officio members; the | 17 |
| appointments shall be made by January 1, 2007; and be it | 18 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall (1) investigate | 20 |
| Illinois' current funding structure of long-term care and its | 21 |
| impact on lower and moderate income individuals; (2) research | 22 |
| the status of the programs implemented by the four states | 23 |
| administering long-term care partnerships; (3) analyze federal | 24 |
| criteria to implement a long-term care partnership and the | 25 |
| impact it would have on Illinois' Medicaid Plan; and (4) | 26 |
| consider the social and economic benefits of enacting a | 27 |
| Long-Term Care Partnership program in Illinois; and be it | 28 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the Department of Financial and | 30 |
| Professional Regulation's Division of Insurance shall provide | 31 |
| staff support to the Task Force, as necessary; and be it | 32 |
| further |
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| RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall report its findings and | 2 |
| recommendations to the House of Representatives by March 31, | 3 |
| 2007; and be it further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to | 5 |
| the directors of the Department of Financial and Professional | 6 |
| Regulation and the Department of Healthcare and Family | 7 |
| Services.
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