Bill Text: IL HJR0084 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Illinois Congressional Delegation to co-sponsor H.R. 96 and support it in any manner possible to ensure that our veterans receive the proper and sufficient dental care that they deserve.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HJR0084 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HJR0084-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The purpose of the Veteran's Administration is, in | ||||||
3 | the words of Abraham Lincoln, "To care for
him who shall have | ||||||
4 | borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan"; and
| ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, The Veterans Administration provides health care | ||||||
6 | to many veterans through its 1,250 health care
facilities, | ||||||
7 | including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,069 outpatient sites; | ||||||
8 | and
| ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, After serving our country, our veterans have | ||||||
10 | earned the very best healthcare possible, something
the | ||||||
11 | Veteran's Administrations has pledged to provide; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Despite providing various types of healthcare to | ||||||
13 | over nine million veterans, the Veteran's Health
| ||||||
14 | Administration (VHA) fails to provide dental care to most of | ||||||
15 | those veterans; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, According to the VHA's own statistics, while over | ||||||
17 | nine million veterans are eligible for healthcare
under the | ||||||
18 | VHA, only about 500,000, or 5.6%, of those are receiving dental | ||||||
19 | care, as the qualifications to receive full dental care require | ||||||
20 | that a
veteran be 100% disabled or have been a POW; and
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | WHEREAS, While veterans are able to purchase dental | ||||||
2 | insurance through the VA Dental Insurance Program
(VADIP), it | ||||||
3 | is not an affordable option, leaving veterans with no other | ||||||
4 | choice but to live with rotted
teeth and other signs of a lack | ||||||
5 | of dental care; and
| ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Dental health has been proven to affect other | ||||||
7 | aspects of health, and poor dental care is associated with | ||||||
8 | pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's,
diabetes, and heart disease; | ||||||
9 | good dental care can prevent many serious health issues and | ||||||
10 | would allow the VA to save money by eliminating the cost of | ||||||
11 | treating future diseases; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, According to the 2016 Oral Health in Illinois | ||||||
13 | Report, in 2015, over one third of adults in Illinois
(36%) | ||||||
14 | reported not having visited the dentist in the past year, with | ||||||
15 | lack of insurance being one of the barriers to
dental care; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, H.R. 96 introduced by U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley | ||||||
17 | would amend Title 38, USC, to require the
Veteran's | ||||||
18 | Administration to furnish dental care in the same manner as any | ||||||
19 | other medical service, giving more
veterans access to the full | ||||||
20 | dental care that they severely need; therefore, be it
| ||||||
21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
22 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recognize the right of all | ||||||
2 | veterans to have full coverage for dental care; and be it | ||||||
3 | further
| ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois
Congressional | ||||||
5 | Delegation to co-sponsor H.R. 96 and support it in any manner | ||||||
6 | possible to ensure
that our veterans receive the proper and | ||||||
7 | sufficient dental care that they deserve; and be it further
| ||||||
8 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
9 | delivered to all members of the Illinois Congressional | ||||||
10 | Delegation.
|