Bill Text: IL HR0560 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Celebrates the 44th anniversary of Medicare and urges Congress and the President to immediately reconsider the "Single Payer" option based on the Medicare model for adoption as the primary component of a national health reform plan. [Track Bill]

Status: 2010-03-17 - Resolution Adopted 063-051-000 [HR0560 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HR0560-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, In 2005, the Medicare Rights Center (MRC)
published "Medicare: A National Treasure for Forty Years"; the
Medicare program was created as part of the Social Security
Amendments of 1965, and the program will celebrate its 44th
anniversary on July 30, 2009; and
WHEREAS, The MRC's findings are still valid, to wit: the
Medicare program has become a national treasure, reflecting the
nation's commitment to the health and independence of older
Americans and Americans with disabilities by providing health
care coverage to 45 million people; and
WHEREAS, The original design of the Medicare program - its
universality, shared risk, simplicity and dependability -
created the foundation for its 44 years of success; Medicare's
universal nature ensures that virtually all older Americans and
many people with disabilities receive the health care they
need, while Medicare pools risk in order to share the financial
burdens of illness across healthy and sick individuals and
affluent and low-income families; for 44 years, Medicare has
guaranteed coverage for a defined set of benefits at a uniform
and predictable cost to all seniors and to people with
disabilities regardless of their income, health status, or
where they live and has dramatically improved the quality of

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life for millions of individuals; and
WHEREAS, Among the most important reasons to celebrate the
past 44 years of Medicare are: (1) guaranteed access to care
for people with Medicare; (2) improved quality of life for
older Americans and people with disabilities; (3)
administrative efficiency and cost containment; (4) critical
support for America's healthcare system; and (5) guaranteed
benefits and choice of providers; and
WHEREAS, Prior to Medicare, only half of older adults had
health insurance; private insurers were unable or unwilling to
provide comprehensive, affordable health care coverage to the
growing aged population, who were either too old or too sick
and therefore too high an insurance risk; through the guarantee
of Medicare coverage, the federal government established
protections for all people with Medicare that ensure that
everyone - including those battling costly illnesses - have
access to covered services; and
WHEREAS, Medicare is the second largest source of federal
spending for HIV care and treatment, and approximately one out
of every five HIV-positive Americans receiving regular medical
care depends, at least in part, on the Medicare program; and
WHEREAS, Medicare has also improved access to care in other

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ways; for example, Medicare was, and continues to be,
instrumental in reducing disparities in access and coverage for
racial and ethnic minority groups; and
WHEREAS, A 2001 survey demonstrates that people with
Medicare are generally more satisfied with their health care
than are persons under age 65 who are covered by private
insurance; people with Medicare report fewer problems getting
access to care, greater confidence about their access, and
fewer instances of financial hardship as a result of medical
bills; Medicare creates access to health care across many
dimensions: access to physician services; access to necessary
care; and reduced financial barriers to care; older Americans
with Medicare experience comparatively fewer financial
barriers to care; and
WHEREAS, By the year 2030, 20 percent of the U.S.
population - 77 million people - will be eligible for Medicare,
compared to the 14 percent of Americans who are
Medicare-eligible today; while Medicare gives all Americans a
sense of security knowing their parents, grandparents, friends
and neighbors can access the health care they need, before long
the next generation of Americans will need to count on Medicare
too; and
WHEREAS, Thanks to Medicare, millions of Americans are able

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to afford life-saving care, but Medicare also improves the
quality of life for older Americans in other ways; for example,
Medicare is also a social safety net that has lifted millions
of people out of poverty; in fact, since Medicare was created
in 1965, poverty among the elderly has been reduced by nearly
two-thirds; by financing health care services, Medicare
safeguards beneficiaries and their families from the ruinous
costs of medical treatments and prevents individuals from
spending unmanageable proportions of their incomes on medical
care or being pushed into poverty by their medical bills; in
addition, life expectancy has increased by three years and more
people are living past the age of 85 than ever before, while
disability rates among the elderly are decreasing; with
improvements in Medicare coverage for preventive services,
such as breast and prostate cancer screening, and advances in
care management for people with chronic conditions, further
reductions in morbidity and disability can be expected; and
WHEREAS, Equally important in assessing Medicare's success
is Medicare's cost-effectiveness; Medicare has consistently
contained health care costs better than private health plans;
analysis of cumulative spending over a 30-year period further
illustrates Medicare's ability to control costs over time;
Medicare has been able to accomplish this cost-containment
record, in part, by using its resources more efficiently,
assessing the clinical effectiveness of services when making

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coverage decisions and when setting payment rates for certain
services; and
WHEREAS, Medicare's payment structure supports the United
States' health system infrastructure; for example, Medicare
supports the nation's teaching hospitals and educational
opportunities for health care professionals, through enhanced
payments; by supporting graduate education for physicians and
other providers, Medicare benefits all Americans, whether or
not they are covered by Medicare; Medicare also provides extra
support to hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of
low-income patients and to rural hospitals, which are often
more heavily dependent on Medicare reimbursement than other
facilities; Medicare also provides enhanced payments to rural
health clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers in
medically underserved areas to ensure that care is available
for vulnerable people; and
WHEREAS, Medicare is the largest single payer for services
provided by the 7,000 home health agencies nationwide;
moreover, Medicare is an essential part of the entire U.S.
economy as well as a pillar of the health system; and
WHEREAS, Medicare is simple, popular and reliable; seniors
are very satisfied with the Medicare program; Medicare's
success is related to the unparalleled choice and availability

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of physicians and health care services that it offers people;
and
WHEREAS, Medicare has served Americans well; it is equally
available to all seniors and to people with disabilities,
regardless of health or financial status, and realizes the
right to health care for many of America's most vulnerable
individuals; Medicare continues to symbolize a rational, just
and systematic approach to health care access for all
Americans; and
WHEREAS, The enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) has prompted
significant changes to the Medicare program; the MMA
establishes a new outpatient prescription drug benefit -
Medicare Part D - for people with Medicare coverage, and
replaces Medicaid drug coverage with the new Part D program for
people who receive health coverage from both Medicare and
Medicaid; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
celebrate the past 44 years of Medicare and urge the United
States Congress to make sure that the millions of seniors and
Americans with disabilities who rely on it will be able to
enjoy its dependability and simplicity in the years to come;

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Medicare's successes to date should guide future changes to the
program, so that it can continue to ensure access to care,
improve quality of life, support the health care system, and
enjoy broad support among the people whom it helps every day;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That strengthening Medicare and improving the
Medicare Part D drug program should be a vital part of any
reform of the American health care system; and be it further
RESOLVED, That, given the history and successes of the
Medicare program, the United States Congress and the President
of the United States should immediately reconsider the "Single
Payer" option based on the Medicare model for adoption as the
primary component of a national health reform plan, so that all
of the people in America can have full access to comprehensive,
quality health care in the most cost-effective and efficient
manner possible; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to President Barack Obama and each member of the
Illinois Congressional delegation.