Bill Text: NJ SR123 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Memorializes Congress to oppose proposal to eliminate traditional Medicare program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-16 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SR123 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-SR123-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Memorializes Congress to oppose proposal to eliminate traditional Medicare program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution memorializing the Congress of the United States to oppose legislation to eliminate the traditional Medicare program.
Whereas, The United States House of Representatives has passed legislation that embodies a radical proposal by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan to end the federal Medicare program for elderly and disabled Americans as we know it; and
Whereas, The Medicare program was created in 1965 because the federal government perceived a critical need to provide a health care safety net for the elderly and disabled throughout this nation, who would otherwise lack adequate access to basic care for their medical needs; and
Whereas, Under the Ryan proposal, Medicare beneficiaries would no longer have access to a guaranteed set of health benefits but would instead be required to obtain health care coverage from a private insurer, with the federal government providing a subsidy to cover part of the cost of the premiums for that coverage; and
Whereas, Under the Ryan proposal, the amount of the subsidy to pay these premiums would grow less rapidly than health care costs and, as a result, would become increasingly inadequate over time; and
Whereas, For people who are now age 55 or under, the Ryan proposal would eliminate traditional fee-for-service Medicare, replace the program with federal government subsidies for private health insurance coverage, and raise the age at which people become eligible for the program; and for those now over age 55, who would stay in the traditional Medicare program as it was gradually phased out, the Ryan proposal would increase the amount of cost-sharing that most beneficiaries are required to pay for covered health services; and
Whereas, Under the Ryan proposal, many Medicare beneficiaries would find that the federal government subsidy would not allow them to purchase a package of benefits comparable to that which Medicare now provides and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would probably have to purchase less extensive coverage or pay higher premiums than they would under current law; and
Whereas, This radical change to the Medicare program would lead to the most vulnerable among us having to cope with a lack of access to health care in their "golden years," including the more than 1.3 million New Jerseyans who rely on Medicare for their health care needs; and
Whereas, The Congress of the United States should join with the President in opposing this radical proposal that would fundamentally undermine the capacity of the Medicare program to meet the health care needs of our senior and disabled citizens across America and, instead, focus on developing a Medicare reform plan that recognizes the needs of our aging population for continued access to affordable health care and takes an equitable and reasonable approach to ensuring the preservation of this program for this and succeeding generations of our most vulnerable fellow citizens; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully memorializes the United States Congress to oppose any legislation that embodies any proposal along the lines of the radical proposal by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan to eliminate the traditional Medicare program and the access that it currently affords beneficiaries to a guaranteed set of benefits from participating health care providers.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the presiding officers of the United States Congress and each of the members of the Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.
STATEMENT
This resolution respectfully memorializes the United States Congress to oppose any legislation that embodies any proposal along the lines of the radical proposal by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan to eliminate the traditional Medicare program.
