Full Text of HJR0048 099th General Assembly
HJ0048 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Senior members of Congress are seeking major | 3 | | changes to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) when | 4 | | the program's funding expires in September 2015; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Their proposal, labeled a "discussion draft" for | 6 | | legislation, is being circulated by Senator Orrin Hatch of | 7 | | Utah, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance; | 8 | | Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, chairman of the House | 9 | | Energy and Commerce Committee; and Representative Joe Pitts of | 10 | | Pennsylvania, chairman of the Subcommittee on Health; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal would reduce federal | 12 | | financing of CHIP for families with incomes above 250% of the | 13 | | federal poverty level and eliminate federal help for those with | 14 | | incomes above 300% of the federal poverty level; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal would also eliminate an | 16 | | increase in the federal matching rate for CHIP that is | 17 | | scheduled to go into effect in 2016 in all states; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal could deprive more than a | 19 | | million children of insurance or force their families to pay | 20 | | higher out-of-pocket costs for their coverage; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal threatens to undermine | 2 | | the progress made in reducing the number of uninsured children, | 3 | | gains that came from enrolling more children in Medicaid and in | 4 | | CHIP, which covers children whose families earn too much to | 5 | | qualify for Medicaid; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal would eliminate the | 7 | | Affordable Care Act's requirement that states keep the | 8 | | family-income eligibility levels stable until 2019; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal could make it more | 10 | | difficult for families to prove their eligibility; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Faced with a loss of federal funds for CHIP, as | 12 | | suggested in the legislative proposal, many states would | 13 | | probably shrink their CHIP programs and reduce their own | 14 | | financial contributions; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal would also eliminate a | 16 | | requirement that states enroll children who are just above the | 17 | | poverty line in Medicaid; and enable states to move them from | 18 | | Medicaid back to CHIP, where enrollments are often limited by | 19 | | budget caps; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The legislative proposal would allow states to | 21 | | impose a 12-month waiting period (up from the current 90 days) |
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| 1 | | before children who lose coverage from a parent's insurance | 2 | | plan can be enrolled in CHIP; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, By contrast, bills introduced in the U.S. House of | 4 | | Representatives and U.S. Senate would extend federal CHIP | 5 | | financing for the next 4 years and essentially continue the | 6 | | program along current lines; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 9 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge all members of the | 10 | | Illinois congressional delegation to support legislation which | 11 | | would extend federal financing for the Children's Health | 12 | | Insurance Program for the next 4 years and continue the program | 13 | | along current lines and to oppose legislation which would | 14 | | restrict children's access to health care; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to the Governor, the members of the Illinois | 17 | | congressional delegation, and President Barack Obama.
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