State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0336

 
                                               LRB9214438RHrh

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, Quality patient medical care includes access  to
 3    all FDA-approved prescription medicines; and

 4        WHEREAS,  New  medicines are being developed and approved
 5    to treat diseases that were  not  treatable  or  were  poorly
 6    treated  in  the  past,  such  as  medicines  for  high blood
 7    pressure (11 medicines in development),  Alzheimer's  Disease
 8    (21   medicines   in  development)  and  Prostate  Cancer  (5
 9    medicines in development); and

10        WHEREAS, Many  new  medicines  are  being  developed  for
11    diseases and conditions that uniquely affect populations most
12    likely  to  lack health insurance or be enrolled in Medicaid,
13    including the elderly (18 medicines in development for  heart
14    failure)  and  the  disabled (22 medicines in development for
15    rheumatoid arthritis); and

16        WHEREAS, Some patient populations may face greater  risks
17    from  low-quality  medical  care  for  specific  diseases and
18    conditions, such as African Americans  who  are  more  likely
19    than  whites to develop serious complications from high blood
20    pressure or  less  aggressive  treatment  for  cancer;  prior
21    authorization or other limitations on quality health care may
22    aggravate these poor medical outcomes by preventing access to
23    the  best quality medical care, including prescription drugs;
24    and

25        WHEREAS, Many people without health insurance or enrolled
26    in Medicaid have limited health literacy which in turn limits
27    their ability to recognize  and  argue  for  quality  medical
28    care,   including  the  drugs  their  health  care  providers
29    recommend; and

30        WHEREAS, Prior authorization and other  limitations  that
31    interfere  with  health  care  providers' choices for medical
 
                            -2-                LRB9214438RHrh
 1    treatments discourage doctors, nurses, and other health  care
 2    providers from serving the Medicaid population; and

 3        WHEREAS,  State  agencies may select preferred drugs that
 4    do  not  require  prior  approval  based  on  the  medicines'
 5    effectiveness within the general population without regard to
 6    their effectiveness for  specific  sub-populations,  such  as
 7    African Americans or Hispanic Americans; and

 8        WHEREAS,  The  uninsured  and  Medicaid  patients  may be
 9    discouraged from beginning, or  continuing,  the  recommended
10    treatment  process  by  delays  in treatments that occur when
11    health care providers must navigate  the  Medicaid  or  other
12    State prior approval and appeal procedures; and

13        WHEREAS, Treatment delays while providers obtain required
14    approvals  also  add  to  the  concerns of patients and their
15    families that they are receiving "second class medical care";
16    therefore, be it

17        RESOLVED BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-SECOND  GENERAL
18    ASSEMBLY   OF   THE   STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  that  we  support
19    legislation to ensure access to quality patient  prescription
20    drug and other health care by recognizing the central role of
21    the  patient's  health  care  provider  in  the  selection of
22    medicines and other medical treatment options.

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