093_HR0092

 
                                     LRB093 08655 HSS 08885 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The right to a healthy life is one of  the  most
 3    basic of all rights; and

 4        WHEREAS,  One  million five hundred thousand Illinoisians
 5    are over the age of 65 years; Medicare  alone  is  unable  to
 6    support  the  health  care  needs of such a large population;
 7    many seniors have fixed  incomes  and  cannot  afford  rising
 8    health  care  costs,  including  the  costs  of  prescription
 9    medications  and  other  treatments  that  are not covered by
10    Medicare; and

11        WHEREAS, Five million eight hundred  thousand  people  in
12    the United States are in long-term care; long-term care costs
13    approximately  $50,000 per year per patient, and thus seniors
14    in long-term care are often forced to impoverish  themselves,
15    losing not only their assets, but also lifetimes of memories;
16    in  addition,  many  seniors  are forced to leave their homes
17    prematurely and enter long-term care facilities because  they
18    are denied home health care services; and

19        WHEREAS,  Seniors  with  diminished  mental  and physical
20    capacities are targets for financial, physical, and emotional
21    elder abuse that negatively affects their health; and

22        WHEREAS, Seniors are often treated by  different  doctors
23    who do not know the medical histories of their patients, thus
24    further reducing the continuity and resulting quality of care
25    for seniors; and

26        WHEREAS,  Seniors  are presented with a confusing maze of
27    health care laws and regulations,  both  federal  and  state,
28    thus  making it difficult for them to have access to accurate
29    information relating to their coverage and rights; and

30        WHEREAS,  Many  seniors  are,  therefore,  currently  not
31    receiving the quality of health care that they deserve  as  a
 
                            -2-      LRB093 08655 HSS 08885 r
 1    basic right; therefore, be it

 2        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 3    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
 4    it  is  the  goal  of the House of Representatives that every
 5    senior in Illinois receive the best possible health care  and
 6    that,   in   order   to  achieve  this  goal,  the  House  of
 7    Representatives finds and declares that seniors ought to have
 8    all of the following rights with regard to health care:

 9        (1)  Every  senior   should   be   entitled   to   access
10    affordable,   high-quality,   and   expedient   health  care,
11    including prescription  medication,  hospitalization,  mental
12    health   care,   orthotics,   dental   care,   vision   care,
13    gender-specific medical care, and long-term care;

14        (2)  Every  senior  should be entitled to continuity with
15    respect to his or her health care;

16        (3)  Every senior should be entitled to  safe  and  clean
17    environments  in  assisted  living  and long-term health care
18    facilities;

19        (4)  Every senior should be entitled to  access  to  home
20    health care.

21        (5)  Every  senior  should  be entitled to accessible and
22    legible  information  about  health  care  and   accompanying
23    rights;

24        (6)  Every  senior  should be entitled to information and
25    easy access to a knowledgeable advocate  who  is  capable  of
26    assisting seniors who are disabled by illness; and

27        (7)  Every  senior  should be entitled to protection from
 
                            -3-      LRB093 08655 HSS 08885 r
 1    financial, emotional, and physical elder abuse.