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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The United States Senate and the United States
3 House of Representatives continue to work toward the
4 development of health care reform legislation, which would seek
5 to address the number of uninsured Americans and the escalating
6 costs of the nation's health care system; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Both health care reform proposals, which have
8 separately passed the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
9 Representatives, would impose Medicare cuts for services
10 provided to elderly citizens, estimated at roughly $500
11 million; such cuts raise access to care concerns for
12 individuals dependent on Medicare for health insurance
13 coverage; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Cost-effective home-based services for the
15 elderly are targeted for $55 billion in reductions by the
16 provisions favored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, representing
17 12.5% of the proposed Medicare cuts, even though such services
18 represent only 4.5% of Medicare spending; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Proposed expansions of Medicaid eligibility will
20 add to the unsustainable growth and payment backlogs that face
21 the Illinois Medicaid program, thereby placing additional
22 pressure on medical providers already facing reductions in

 

 

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1 Medicare payments; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Accompanying Medicaid regulations place
3 additional restrictions on measures that states may implement
4 to contain costs in order to keep Medicaid programs solvent;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Payroll tax increases and taxes on
7 privately-purchased health care would be imposed in an attempt
8 to mask the $930 billion cost of new programs and coverage
9 expansions contained in the proposed health care reforms; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The provisions passed by the United States Senate
11 under the direction of Majority Leader Harry Reid place the
12 federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in charge of
13 regulating and administering the health plans that would be
14 marketed to the uninsured; public employees unions have raised
15 concerns about the OPM's ability to meet current
16 responsibilities while undertaking the new requirements; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the United States
18 Constitution states that, "The powers not delegated to the
19 United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
20 States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
21 people"; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Individual states have developed a system for
2 regulating the health insurance market focused on the unique
3 characteristics of each state, including consumer protections
4 and regulatory matters meant to ensure the solvency of
5 insurance providers; therefore, be it
 
6     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
8 urge the members of the United States Congress to not institute
9 the creation of healthcare reforms which reduce funding for
10 Medicare, impose new payroll and private health insurance
11 taxes, limit the states' abilities to effectively manage
12 Medicaid programs, and/or infringe on the 10th Amendment to the
13 United States Constitution; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
15 presented to the members of the Illinois congressional
16 delegation, the Speaker of the United States House of
17 Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States
18 Senate, and the President of the United States.