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H.C.R. No. 101
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Advances in the effectiveness of prescriptive
medication have substantially improved the quality of health care
in the United States; a key component of preventive health care,
prescription drugs help patients live healthier, longer, and more
productive lives without the need for costly long-term acute care;
and
WHEREAS, Since the passage of the Social Security Act of
1965, which originally authorized Medicare, the increased use of
new and improved prescription drugs has changed the delivery of
health care in the United States; nonetheless, of the more than 40
million people enrolled in Medicare, one-third have no prescription
drug coverage, and the limited coverage available to the remaining
two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries is often inadequate to meet
their needs; and
WHEREAS, Comprehensive reform of the Medicare program is
necessary to provide affordable care for the elderly and disabled
who suffer from chronic disease and comorbidity; the private sector
has established a model for successful reforms by negotiating
discounts on prescription drugs and by coordinating care with
disease management, drug utilization review, and patient education
programs, all of which aid in ameliorating medical problems; and
WHEREAS, Despite the growing needs of the Medicare
population, the United States Congress has thus far failed to
remedy the inadequacies of the Medicare program; effective reform
would adopt the successful strategies of the private sector and use
the marketplace to foster competition among private plans,
maintaining the financial viability of the program and offering
greater choice of quality coverage to seniors and the disabled; and
WHEREAS, Instead, the lack of a prescription drug benefit in
particular has forced states to supplement Medicare by providing
medicine to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries through state
Medicaid programs; this "dually eligible" population, those who
qualify for federal Medicare and state Medicaid, accounts for 42
percent of Medicaid drug expenditures nationwide; and
WHEREAS, The situation is critical in Texas, where the
Congressional Budget Office reported the enactment of a Medicare
drug benefit would mean a savings of nearly $2 billion in Medicaid
funds between 2005 and 2012; alarmingly, the costs to state
Medicaid programs are expected to increase as the non-elderly
disabled and the elderly over age 85 who are most likely to be
dually eligible are the fastest growing populations within
Medicare; and
WHEREAS, With state Medicaid programs already facing serious
budgetary constraints that threaten to restrict patients' access to
needed medical care and prescription drugs, it is more important
than ever that the congress enact a Medicare prescription drug
benefit as quickly as possible; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully request that the Congress of the United States
enact financially sustainable, voluntary, universal, and privately
administered outpatient prescription drug coverage as part of the
federal Medicare program; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
Capelo
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 101 was adopted by the House on May
16, 2003, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.C.R. No. 101 was adopted by the Senate on May
29, 2003, by a viva-voce vote.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor