79R894 CME-D

By:  Rodriguez                                                  H.C.R. No. 48 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, Created in 1965, the federal Medicare program 
provides health insurance coverage for more than 40 million 
Americans; although most of those enrolled in Medicare are senior 
citizens, approximately six million enrollees under the age of 65 
have qualified because of permanent and severe disability, such as 
spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, 
cancer, or other illness or disorder; and
	WHEREAS, Despite the physical and financial hardships 
wrought by these conditions and the fact that Social Security 
Disability Insurance (SSDI) is designed for individuals with a work 
history who paid into the social security system before the onset of 
their disability, federal law mandates a 24-month waiting period 
from the time a disabled individual first receives SSDI benefits to 
the time Medicare coverage begins; a prerequisite to Medicare, the 
SSDI program itself delays benefits for five months while the 
person's disability is determined--effectively creating a 29-month 
waiting period for Medicare; and
	WHEREAS, This restriction affects a significant number of 
Americans in need; as of January 2002, there were approximately 1.2 
million disabled individuals who qualified for SSDI and were 
awaiting Medicare coverage, many of whom were unemployed because of 
their disability; consequently, under these conditions, by the time 
Medicare began, an estimated 77 percent of those individuals would 
be poor or nearly poor, 45 percent would have incomes below the 
federal poverty line, and close to 40 percent would be enrolled in 
state Medicaid programs; and
	WHEREAS, Furthermore, it has been estimated that as many as 
one-third of the individuals currently awaiting coverage may be 
uninsured and likely to incur significant medical care expenses 
during the two-year waiting period, often with devastating 
consequences; studies indicate that the uninsured are likely to 
delay or forgo needed care, leading to worsening health and even 
premature death, and the American Medical Association has 
determined that death rates among SSDI recipients are highest in 
the first 24 months of enrollment; and
	WHEREAS, Eliminating the 24-month waiting period not only 
would prevent worsening illness and disability for SSDI 
beneficiaries, thereby reducing more costly future medical needs 
and potential long-term reliance on public health care programs, 
but could also save the Medicaid program as much as $4.3 billion at 
2002 program levels, including nearly $1.8 billion in savings to 
states and $2.5 billion in federal savings that would help offset a 
substantial portion of the accompanying increase in Medicare 
expenditures; and
	WHEREAS, Recognizing the consequences of the waiting period 
to those suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou 
Gehrig's disease, the 106th United States Congress passed H.R. 5661 
in 2000 and eliminated the requirement for enrollees diagnosed with 
the disease; in passing H.R. 5661, the congress acknowledged the 
enormous difficulties faced by those diagnosed with severe 
disabilities and established precedent for the exception to be 
extended to all the disabled on the Medicare waiting list; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 79th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to enact 
legislation to eliminate the 24-month Medicare waiting period for 
participants in Social Security Disability Insurance; and, be it 
further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, the 
speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the 
senate of the United States Congress, and 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.