Full Text of HR0593 97th General Assembly
HR0593 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, On August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 | 3 | | was signed into law creating the Joint Select Committee on | 4 | | Deficit Reduction, a bipartisan Congressional committee given | 5 | | the task of identifying an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit | 6 | | reduction measures; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, | 8 | | also known as the Super Committee, is comprised of 12 | 9 | | lawmakers, appointed equally by Democratic and Republican | 10 | | leaders in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Super Committee shall vote by November 23, | 12 | | 2011 on its debt reduction proposals and if a majority of the | 13 | | Super Committee reaches an agreement on all or part of a | 14 | | deficit reduction plan, then the proposal shall receive an up | 15 | | or down vote by the House and Senate by December 23, 2011; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Changes to the Medicaid program are being | 17 | | considered as a component of securing a portion of the $1.5 | 18 | | trillion in savings to be reported by the Super Committee; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, President Obama has forwarded recommendations to | 20 | | the Super Committee for $72 billion in federal Medicaid | 21 | | reductions, including limits on the use of provider assessment |
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| 1 | | programs, changes to federal matching rate formulas, and | 2 | | restrictions on the use of Disproportionate Share Hospital | 3 | | payments; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, While changes to the Medicaid program are a vital | 5 | | component for deficit reduction, such reforms should go beyond | 6 | | proposals seeking to limit the federal share of expenditures | 7 | | and must focus on the underlying factors that have led to | 8 | | unsustainable growth in the Medicaid program; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Medicaid Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions | 10 | | contained in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require states to | 11 | | maintain eligibility standards, methodologies, and procedures | 12 | | that were in place on the date of the enactment of the ACA, and | 13 | | these MOE requirements seriously impair the ability of states | 14 | | in fiscal crises to administer viable Medicaid programs; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In an attempt to control escalating Medicaid costs | 16 | | and improve coordination of care for enrollees, Illinois | 17 | | enacted comprehensive Medicaid reforms in 2011, including | 18 | | changes to require applicants to submit one month of income | 19 | | data and proof of Illinois residency when applying for Medicaid | 20 | | coverage; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | 22 | | (CMS) submitted written correspondence to the Director of the |
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| 1 | | Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services blocking | 2 | | implementation of these two common sense, bipartisan reforms as | 3 | | a violation of the MOE provisions contained in the ACA; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The rejection of these reforms, which are already | 5 | | in place in numerous states, hamper Illinois' ability to verify | 6 | | which applicants and enrollees are truly eligible for Medicaid | 7 | | services, thereby increasing Medicaid costs for both the State | 8 | | and federal government; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Relaxation of the MOE requirements in the ACA | 10 | | would provide states the flexibility to administer Medicaid | 11 | | programs based on factors currently present in each individual | 12 | | state and would end the practice of penalizing states that have | 13 | | proactively implemented comprehensive coverage provisions | 14 | | during more stable economic times; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Illinois' economy continues to struggle while the | 16 | | Medicaid program consumes an ever growing percentage of | 17 | | available revenues, estimated to result in a $2.4 billion | 18 | | end-of-year backlog of Medicaid bills for Fiscal Year 2012; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Allowing additional flexibility in developing | 20 | | Medicaid guidelines for eligibility, methodologies, and | 21 | | procedures will help Illinois to implement program | 22 | | efficiencies to reduce payment backlogs, reduce hardships to |
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| 1 | | medical providers who are waiting for payments, and safeguard | 2 | | care for those verifiably eligible for services; therefore, be | 3 | | it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we urge the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to | 7 | | recommend repealing the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort (MOE) | 8 | | requirements in the Affordable Care Act which have been cited | 9 | | by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in blocking | 10 | | bipartisan, common sense Medicaid reforms; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That that we urge the Congress of the United | 12 | | States to vote to repeal the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort | 13 | | (MOE) requirements to allow states to have the flexibility to | 14 | | administer Medicaid programs based on current circumstances in | 15 | | each state with the goal of providing access to care to those | 16 | | truly in need and eligible for assistance; and be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 18 | | presented to the 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on | 19 | | Deficit Reduction, members of the Illinois Congressional | 20 | | delegation, the Speaker of the United States House of | 21 | | Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States | 22 | | Senate, and the President of the United States.
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