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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 64 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 64

     Commending efforts in Texas to reduce the number of uninsured 
  individuals and encouraging other States to adopt similar solutions.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2009

 Mr. Neugebauer submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
     Commending efforts in Texas to reduce the number of uninsured 
  individuals and encouraging other States to adopt similar solutions.

Whereas all Americans should have access to affordable, high-quality health care 
        services;
Whereas more than 46 million Americans, or 16 percent of the United States 
        population, do not have health insurance, and nearly 5.5 million people 
        in Texas, or 25 percent of the Texas population, are without health 
        insurance, which ranks Texas as the State with the largest number of 
        uninsured individuals;
Whereas the uninsured usually do not have a primary care physician and rely on 
        emergency room care for medical treatment, and costs for primary and 
        preventive care are much less than costs for emergency room care;
Whereas the future of health care in the United States will need innovative 
        solutions to increase access to affordable health care for the growing 
        population;
Whereas health care decisions are best made between a patient and his or her 
        doctor and not by a government bureaucrat, and competition among 
        providers of health care services and an abundance of choices for 
        patients are vital components to the long-term stability of the health 
        care system;
Whereas the Texas legislature passed S.B. 10 in 2003, which allowed the 
        formation of health group cooperatives and coalitions;
Whereas the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce collaborated with Covenant Health 
        Systems and UMC Health System to develop the Lubbock Chamber Employer 
        Health Plan (the ``Plan'');
Whereas the Plan is available to all Chamber members to purchase health 
        insurance and provides small- and medium-sized businesses and their 
        employees with the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of membership in a 
        large group health insurance plan;
Whereas the Plan initially enrolled 275 groups and 3,156 individuals in May 2006 
        and now provides health insurance to more than 1,000 groups and more 
        than 10,000 individuals; and
Whereas of those covered by the Plan, approximately 20 percent were previously 
        uninsured: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the State of Texas for passing S.B. 10;
            (2) commends the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce for actively 
        working to reduce the number of uninsured individuals in Texas 
        and developing a successful health care plan that has 
        benefitted more than 10,000 individuals in the Lubbock area;
            (3) encourages other chambers of commerce or similar groups 
        in Texas to develop a health group cooperative to provide 
        access to affordable health care to all Texans; and
            (4) encourages other States to study the Texas model and 
        adopt similar, empowering health care solutions.
                                 <all>
```