093_HR0325

                                     LRB093 11907 MKM 16287 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, Over 2,000,000 unique individuals per year  rely
 3    on  the  Illinois Medicaid program for their health insurance
 4    needs, including long term care; and

 5        WHEREAS, Due to extended payment  cycles  and  inadequate
 6    reimbursement  rates,  27 long term care facilities closed in
 7    Illinois in 2002 due to financial difficulties and additional
 8    facilities have notified the Department of  Public  Aid  that
 9    they will be filing for bankruptcy in 2003; and

10        WHEREAS,  In  an  effort  to  address funding inequities,
11    members of the Illinois House of Representatives conducted  a
12    statewide hearing on Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes
13    during the summer and fall of 2001; and

14        WHEREAS,  As  a  result  of  those  hearings,  bipartisan
15    legislation  to  update  the  reimbursement system to reflect
16    data collected under the Minimum Data Set  (MDS)  passed  the
17    Illinois General Assembly unanimously during the 92nd General
18    assembly and was signed into law as P.A. 92-848; and

19        WHEREAS,  The  new  reimbursement system based on the MDS
20    assessment will ensure that Medicaid funding  is  distributed
21    based  on  the  need  of  long term care residents instead of
22    being distributed under an old, faulted system which resulted
23    in funding inequities; and

24        WHEREAS, The new reimbursement system is required by  law
25    to  be  implemented  by July 1, 2003, including a 2-year hold
26    harmless provision to ensure that no facility  receives  less
27    funding  then that facility would have received under the old
28    system; and

29        WHEREAS, Recent efforts have attempted to delay the  date
30    of the implementation of the new system, endangering the care
31    provided to long term care residents; and
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11907 MKM 16287 r
 1        WHEREAS,   Other  recent  efforts  have  also  sought  to
 2    increase the long term care provider  bed  tax  (granny  tax)
 3    from  the  current  charge  of $1.50 per bed per day up to as
 4    much as the $6.50 per bed per  day  allowable  under  federal
 5    law; and

 6        WHEREAS,  An  increase in the bed tax would be especially
 7    difficult for facilities that have already depleted lines  of
 8    credit to pay payroll and other facility costs; therefore, be
 9    it

10        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
11    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
12    we  oppose any efforts to delay the implementation of the MDS
13    long term care reimbursement system  as  required  under  the
14    provisions of P.A. 92-848; and be it further

15        RESOLVED,  That we oppose efforts to increase the nursing
16    home provider bed tax; and be it further

17        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
18    presented  to  the  Governor  of Illinois and the Director of
19    Public Aid.