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| | HR1225 | | LRB097 22930 MST 71735 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Department of Healthcare and Family Services |
| 3 | | (HFS), as the Single State Medicaid Agency required by federal |
| 4 | | law, currently oversees the Illinois Medicaid program; and
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, Enrollment in the Illinois Medicaid program has |
| 6 | | increased 60% during the past 5 years; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, Illinois' Medicaid liability, growing far faster |
| 8 | | than the rest of the Illinois budget, has nearly doubled in the |
| 9 | | past 10 years; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, Given the current fiscal climate, it is absolutely |
| 11 | | critical that scarce State dollars be invested as wisely as |
| 12 | | possible so as to produce optimal health outcomes for Illinois |
| 13 | | citizens; and
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| 14 | | WHEREAS, The State Auditor General has cited numerous |
| 15 | | irregularities with the State's enrollment process, including |
| 16 | | a significant number of chronically late redeterminations; and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, The Legislative Medicaid Advisory Committee, |
| 18 | | through consensus, concluded the need for a vendor to assist |
| 19 | | HFS with ensuring accurate Medicaid eligibility; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Legislative Medicaid Advisory Committee |
| 2 | | estimated annual cost savings of $350 million associated with |
| 3 | | establishing accurate eligibility measures and standards; and
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| 4 | | WHEREAS, The Save Medicaid Access and Resources Together |
| 5 | | (SMART) Act, Public Act 97-689, requires the Chief Procurement |
| 6 | | Officer for General Services working in conjunction with HFS to |
| 7 | | procure an eligibility verification vendor no later than 60 |
| 8 | | days following the effective date of the Act, and further, upon |
| 9 | | selection of said vendor, to enter into a contract within 30 |
| 10 | | days; and
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| 11 | | WHEREAS, Any delay in fully implementing the eligibility |
| 12 | | redeterminations will serve to limit the cost savings |
| 13 | | associated with this crucial reform; and
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| 14 | | WHEREAS, The current implementation plan advanced by HFS |
| 15 | | proposes a full implementation date of January 1, 2013 for |
| 16 | | eligibility redeterminations; and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, The implementation of all the reforms contained in |
| 18 | | the SMART Act is essential for the cost savings associated with |
| 19 | | the SMART Act to be realized; therefore, be it
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| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
| 21 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we urge the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to |
| 2 | | ensure that the eligibility redeterminations process required |
| 3 | | by the SMART Act be fully operational no later than October 1, |
| 4 | | 2012; and be it further
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| 5 | | RESOLVED, That we request the Department of Healthcare and |
| 6 | | Family Services to provide a monthly briefing to the members of |
| 7 | | the Legislative Medicaid Advisory Committee regarding the |
| 8 | | implementation status of all the SMART Act reforms and for |
| 9 | | information provided to the Committee to also be posted online |
| 10 | | by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in a manner |
| 11 | | accessible to the general public; and be it further
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| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
| 13 | | presented to the Governor and the Director of the Department of |
| 14 | | Healthcare and Family Services.
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