ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 121

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

217th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 4, 2016

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Memorializes Congress to enact legislation to provide Medicare coverage for incontinence products.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

A Concurrent Resolution memorializing Congress to provide Medicare coverage for incontinence products.

 

Whereas, More than 26 million people live with incontinence in the United States; and

Whereas, The annual cost of adult incontinence products in the United States currently exceeds $1 billion and that number is expected to grow as the general population ages; and

Whereas, Although Medicare Part B benefits include coverage for certain medical supplies related to incontinence, Medicare Part B benefits do not include coverage for adult incontinent products, such as absorbent undergarments and adult diapers, and most private insurance plans do not cover these products either; and

Whereas, Many senior citizens are on fixed incomes and suffer great hardship because they must spend significant amounts of their incomes on incontinence products; and

Whereas, An overriding concern of senior citizens is finding ways to continue living in their own homes as long as possible and incontinence is a leading cause of institutionalization of the elderly; and

Whereas, Medicare Part B coverage of incontinence products would greatly alleviate the financial burden that many senior citizens face and would enable them to remain vibrant members of their community living in their own homes; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

 

     1.    This House respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to provide Medicare Part B coverage for incontinence products.

 

     2.    Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted the Clerk of the General Assembly to the presiding officers of the Congress of the United States and each of the members of the United States Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This resolution respectfully memorializes the United States Congress to enact legislation to provide Medicare Part B coverage for incontinence products in order to alleviate the financial burden that many senior citizens face and to enable them to remain vibrant members of their community living in their own homes.