HR0674 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0674 LRB093 21083 MKM 47127 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, A study cited by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging indicates that 60% of individuals who reach the age of 65 will eventually face the need for long term care; and

WHEREAS, A one-year stay in a nursing home can cost anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 and the average length of a stay is about 2.5 years; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid, the federal-state partnership, now pays most nursing home costs for people with limited incomes and assets; and

WHEREAS, In an effort to increase the number of individuals purchasing long term care insurance, the State of Illinois enacted the Long Term Care Partnership Act to provide for asset protection for individuals who purchase private long term care insurance; and

WHEREAS, The purpose of long term care partnership programs is to provide incentives to individuals to purchase long term care insurance and, consequently, to relieve the financial burdens on the State when the State assumes payment for the long term care needs of citizens under the Medicaid program by allowing individuals who exhaust private qualified private long term care policy benefits to protect an equivalent value of assets and still satisfy Medicaid's financial eligibility requirements; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Long Term Care Partnership Act is similar to programs currently operational in California, Connecticut, Indiana, and New York, but due to federal provisions contained in what is commonly referred to as the "Waxman Amendment" to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, the asset protections in Illinois do not extend to the estate of an individual; and

WHEREAS, The "Waxman Amendment" provisions contained in Section 1396p of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)(1)(C)) have effectively removed the major incentive for individuals to participate in the Long Term Care Partnership program in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The states that have had fully operational partnership plans for almost a decade have experienced significant savings to taxpayers because, out of 66,000 policies in force, only 28 policyholders to date have exhausted their long term care insurance benefits and accessed benefits under the Medicaid program; and

WHEREAS, Legislation is pending in the 108th Congress, in the form of H.R. 1406, that would allow the asset protections currently in place for the Long Term Care Partnership Programs operating in California, Connecticut, Indiana, and New York to be extended to programs in other states; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that that we support and urge efforts by the United States Congress to repeal provisions contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 that limit the ability of states to operate effective Long Term Care Partnership programs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to each member of the Illinois Congressional delegation, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the Majority Leader of the United States Senate.