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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The federal Patient Protection and Affordable | ||||||
| 3 | Care Act (ACA) was signed into law
by President Barack Obama on | ||||||
| 4 | March 23, 2010; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, In light of the United States Supreme Court's | ||||||
| 6 | decision in June regarding the ACA's
constitutionality, the | ||||||
| 7 | Quinn Administration is moving forward with plans to implement | ||||||
| 8 | a health
insurance exchange for individuals and small | ||||||
| 9 | businesses to purchase insurance policies; the
exchange is | ||||||
| 10 | intended to facilitate compliance with the ACA's individual | ||||||
| 11 | mandate, which requires
most individuals to purchase insurance | ||||||
| 12 | or be assessed a financial penalty; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Illinois has received over $135 million in federal | ||||||
| 14 | grants which were to be directed
towards the exchange's | ||||||
| 15 | information technology infrastructure, consumer assistance | ||||||
| 16 | efforts, and
rate review assistance, among other functions; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Illinois has not yet established the structure, | ||||||
| 18 | operational model, or financing
mechanism for its exchange, | ||||||
| 19 | which means the State will likely operate under a | ||||||
| 20 | federally-facilitated
exchange for at least the first year; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Federal grant funds are anticipated to cover | ||||||
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| 1 | Illinois' projected implementation and
first year operating | ||||||
| 2 | costs, though the ACA requires exchanges to be financially | ||||||
| 3 | self-sustaining
beginning January 1, 2015; more transparency | ||||||
| 4 | is needed to show how Illinois will pay for this
expensive | ||||||
| 5 | technological and operational endeavor; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Because the ACA's requirements could be extremely | ||||||
| 7 | costly to our already cash-strapped
State, it is imperative | ||||||
| 8 | that the legislature and the public are aware of how taxpayers'
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| 9 | dollars are being spent to implement the ACA in Illinois; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, A September 24, 2012 letter to Governor Quinn | ||||||
| 11 | requesting a full accounting of
ACA funds received and expended | ||||||
| 12 | has gone unanswered; therefore, be it
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| 13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 14 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 15 | the Auditor General is directed to
conduct an audit of the | ||||||
| 16 | allocation of federal funds received by the State pursuant to | ||||||
| 17 | the federal Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act; and be | ||||||
| 18 | it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That the Departments of Insurance and Healthcare | ||||||
| 20 | and Family Services and any
other State agency or person who | ||||||
| 21 | may have information relevant to this audit cooperate fully and
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| 22 | promptly with the Auditor General's Office; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as | ||||||
| 2 | soon as practical and report his
findings and recommendations | ||||||
| 3 | upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||||||
| 4 | 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further | ||||||
| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the Auditor General.
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