HR0807 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0807 LRB102 27147 ECR 38642 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to ensuring its residents have affordable and accessible health care, regardless of their income, ethnicity, or zip code; and

WHEREAS, We have continued to take important steps in this State to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring access to quality health care for patients and healthcare consumers in Illinois, despite attempts from Republican members to undermine these efforts; and

WHEREAS, In 2021, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus presented and passed the Health Equity Pillar, which included important provisions like implicit bias and racial training, expansion of sick leave, increased access to primary care physicians and federal qualified health centers, and state health assessment and improvement plan additions; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid funding was expanded under the Health Equity Pillar and other key legislation to include the coverage of, among other things, home-visiting and doulas, community health workers, hospital psychiatric services, veteran support specialists, noncitizen post-kidney transplant services, certified community behavioral health clinics, overdose patient observation treatment, and undocumented health coverage; and

WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Leader Greg Harris, Illinois recently passed HB 1745 and, by doing so, became the first state to pass legislation to ensure patients have the ability to plan and predict their prescription drug costs; and

WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Leader Mary Flowers, Illinois is leading the way for biomarker testing by becoming the first state in the country to pass biomarker testing coverage in HB 1779; the passage of HB 1779 ensures that over three million Illinoisans have access to comprehensive biomarker testing through Medicaid and state regulated insurance; and

WHEREAS, When former Governor Bruce Rauner slashed funding for lifesaving breast cancer screenings, senior care, HIV/AIDS services, and more, Democrats and a small number of independent-minded Republicans stood up to Rauner's extreme cuts and passed a budget over Rauner's veto; Illinois has continued to rebuild its critical infrastructure after the damage Rauner caused by passing a comprehensive budget, including $24 million to the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, $138 million for HIV/AIDS services and prevention, $30 million to maternal and child health programs, and over $980 million to the Community Care Program, which, among other things, includes services to keep seniors in their homes instead of in a long-term care setting; and

WHEREAS, In order to improve the health outcomes of residents in the State of Illinois, we continue to recognize that it is essential to dramatically reform the State's health and human service system and remain committed to introducing more measures to support this transformation; and

WHEREAS, While partisan idealogues across the country tried to block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the federal expansion of Medicaid, Illinois acted decisively in expanding access to care; and

WHEREAS, While former President Donald Trump disgracefully tried to strip health care access from millions, Illinois moved in a fundamentally better direction by implementing state-level protections for care for individuals with pre-existing conditions, regardless of what extremists in Washington do; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we once again strongly declare our commitment to ensuring access to quality health care for Illinois residents; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Congressional Delegation to support federal legislation building on the Affordable Care Act to ensure all people have access to health care, regardless of income, race, or location; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we oppose extreme efforts to strip away health care from people with pre-existing conditions, dismantle regulation, and allow big insurance companies to pad their profits at the expense of patients; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Governor, all Illinois constitutional officers, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation in order to bring further awareness to the importance of access to affordable quality health care in the State of Illinois and to be a model state for the rest of the country.