[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 50 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 50

Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the vital role of Medicare 
    in the health care system of our Nation over the last 40 years.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2005

 Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. 
   Kennedy, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Corzine, Mr. 
 Schumer, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Obama, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Reed, 
  Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Dorgan, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
Wyden, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Biden, 
   Mr. Dayton, Mr. Levin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. 
Lautenberg, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Salazar, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Dodd, 
Mr. Bayh, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Leahy, 
     Mr. Byrd, and Mr. Carper) submitted the following concurrent 
       resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the vital role of Medicare 
    in the health care system of our Nation over the last 40 years.

Whereas Medicare was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 
        Independence, Missouri, on July 30, 1965, as title XVIII of the Social 
        Security Act;
Whereas Medicare was created to provide health insurance to the elderly in part 
        because only about half of the elderly population had health insurance;
Whereas Medicare continues to achieve its purpose of improving health and 
        financial security for Medicare beneficiaries by assuring access to 
        affordable health care and contributing to the significant decrease in 
        the poverty rate among the elderly, which has fallen from nearly 30 
        percent in 1966 to approximately 10 percent in 2002;
Whereas Medicare played a fundamental role, together with the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1964, in desegregating the American health care system by assuring 
        access to care, regardless of race or age;
Whereas Medicare has contributed to improvements in life expectancy for persons 
        over 65 years of age;
Whereas Medicare began with 19 million beneficiaries, and since then has 
        provided health care services for approximately 105 million 
        beneficiaries over the last 40 years;
Whereas Medicare today provides comprehensive health insurance for nearly 42 
        million Americans, which includes more than 35 million senior citizens 
        and 6 million people under 65 years of age who are permanently disabled 
        or living with end stage renal disease, and by 2030 the number of 
        Americans who will rely on Medicare for their health care is expected to 
        reach 78 million, which is nearly double the number today;
Whereas Medicare ensures coverage along a continuum of health care settings such 
        as inpatient hospital care, physician and outpatient hospital care, and 
        other post-hospitalization benefits such as home health care, skilled 
        nursing facility services, and hospice care;
Whereas Medicare has evolved over time to help beneficiaries maintain their 
        health, prevent disease and injury, and to provide better benefits, 
        including more preventive care, such that Medicare, which covered about 
        42 percent of expenditures for the elderly in 1968, covered 
        approximately 55 percent of expenditures by 1997;
Whereas Medicare serves a diverse population of beneficiaries with complex 
        health care needs--71 percent of beneficiaries have two or more chronic 
        health conditions, 29 percent are in fair to poor health, and 23 percent 
        have cognitive impairments;
Whereas many who depend upon Medicare have modest incomes and assets--a majority 
        of Medicare beneficiaries have incomes below 200 percent of the Federal 
        poverty level ($19,140 for individuals and $25,660 for married couples 
        in 2005) and 48 percent of non-institutionalized Medicare beneficiaries 
        have assets below $10,000;
Whereas Medicare provides health insurance for nearly 6 million individuals 
        under the age of 65 who live with disabilities or illnesses such as 
        multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, depression, and HIV/AIDS, and 
        who are more likely than those who are elderly to be in poor health and 
        be unable to live independently and perform basic activities of daily 
        living;
Whereas Medicare provides health insurance coverage for nearly one-in-five adult 
        women in the United States and plays an especially important role in 
        assuring access to health care for older women who have lower average 
        annual incomes than men of the same age (average difference in income 
        being $14,000) and fewer resources to pay for health care services;
Whereas Medicare covers important preventive and health maintenance services, 
        including vaccinations, prostate and mammography screening, bone mass 
        measurement, and glaucoma screening;
Whereas Medicare has achieved its major purpose of providing access for the 
        elderly and individuals with disabilities to needed health care such 
        that nearly 98 percent of elderly adults report that they have access to 
        needed health care;
Whereas elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more satisfied with their coverage 
        than privately insured nonelderly adults and Medicare beneficiaries are 
        more likely to rate their health insurance coverage as ``very good'' or 
        ``excellent'' and to report they were very satisfied with the care they 
        received; and
Whereas Medicare is a remarkably efficient program, with administrative costs 
        that average less than 2 percent of expenditures compared to about 12 
        percent in private plans and average per capita cost increases below 
        those of the private sector, further highlighting its efficiency: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) for the past 40 years, Medicare has made significant 
        medical, social, and economic contributions to our Nation;
            (2) the access to care provided by Medicare has changed the 
        course of health outcomes for the elderly and those with 
        disabilities, preventing physical deterioration and preventing 
        more individuals from slipping into poverty; and
            (3) Congress must continue to support, strengthen, and 
        enhance the quality of care in this vital Federal health 
        insurance program that guarantees all Medicare beneficiaries 
        affordable health care that meets their needs.
                                 <all>