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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 25 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 25

Commemorating 50 years since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid 
                               Programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 8, 2015

 Mr. Wyden (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mrs. 
 Boxer, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Donnelly, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
Heinrich, Ms. Heitkamp, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, 
 Mr. Leahy, Mr. Markey, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Ms. 
 Mikulski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, 
   Mr. Reid, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. 
     Stabenow, Mr. Tester, Mr. Udall, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. 
   Whitehouse, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Manchin) submitted the following 
       resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Commemorating 50 years since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid 
                               Programs.

Whereas, on January 7, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson called on Congress to 
        provide health insurance for the elderly and most vulnerable;
Whereas over the past 50 years, Congress has strengthened Medicare and Medicaid 
        with improvements to, and expansion of, health care benefits;
Whereas today, as a result of President Johnson's call to action and Congress' 
        bipartisan initiative that created the Medicare program, 54,000,000 
        seniors and people with disabilities have access to guaranteed health 
        care benefits;
Whereas today, 68,000,000 Americans, including children, pregnant women, 
        individuals with disabilities, elderly who are poor and frail, and low 
        income adults and parents have access to health care through Medicaid;
Whereas Medicare and Medicaid have been leaders in improving the quality of care 
        delivered to the Nation, resulting in 1,300,000 fewer infections, 
        accidents or other adverse events and avoiding 150,000 unnecessary 
        hospital readmissions;
Whereas Medicare has been an innovator in developing alternative ways to pay for 
        health care that emphasize care coordination across all health care 
        providers and settings;
Whereas Medicare provides access to needed care, including primary and specialty 
        care, free preventative services, and prescription drugs;
Whereas the creation of a prescription drug benefit in 2003 has ensured that 
        nearly 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have prescription drug 
        coverage, and since 2010, over 8,200,000 seniors have saved more than 
        $11,500,000,000 on their prescription drugs as a result of closing the 
        Medicare Part D coverage gap;
Whereas in 2013, an estimated 37,200,000 people with Medicare took advantage of 
        at least one preventative service with no cost sharing;
Whereas Medicaid is a critical source of comprehensive, affordable health 
        coverage for millions of otherwise uninsured low-income adults and 
        parents, including millions of nonelderly low income adults in states 
        that expanded their Medicaid programs as part of health reform;
Whereas Medicaid ensures access to long-term services and supports for 
        vulnerable low income seniors and persons with disabilities by covering 
        60 percent of nursing home residents, picking up 40 percent of the 
        Nation's long-term care costs, and allowing loved ones to live with 
        health and dignity in their own homes and communities;
Whereas Medicaid provides early comprehensive childhood screening, diagnosis, 
        and treatment for 32,000,000 of the Nation's children, including half of 
        all low-income children; and
Whereas Medicaid provides crucial services for pregnant women and babies in that 
        Medicaid covers 45 percent of births nationwide, 53 percent of hospital 
        stays for infants born prematurely or with a low birth weight, and 45 
        percent of hospital stays for infants with birth defects: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) all efforts to improve Medicare and Medicaid must 
        support and build upon President Johnson's vision ``to assure 
        the availability of and accessibility to the best healthcare to 
        all Americans, regardless of age or geography or economic 
        status'';
            (2) Medicare's guaranteed benefit is a lifeline to millions 
        of Americans and must remain intact for this and future 
        generations;
            (3) Medicare should not be transformed into a voucher 
        program, leaving seniors and people with disabilities 
        vulnerable to higher out-of-pocket costs;
            (4) with the strong support of the Federal Government, 
        Medicaid continues to serve as a safety net for vulnerable 
        children, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, elderly 
        who are poor and frail, and other low income adults; and
            (5) Medicaid should not be dismantled through block grants, 
        per-capita caps, or by other policies that slash funding, shift 
        cost to states, reduce benefits, and erode the safety net 
        relied on by over 68,000,000 Americans.
                                 <all>
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