[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 65 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 65

 Recognizing the benefits and importance of federally-qualified health 
         centers and their Medicaid prospective payment system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2005

 Mr. Burr (for himself, Mr. Obama, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mr. Kerry, 
 Mr. Smith, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Collins, and Ms. 
    Snowe) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the benefits and importance of federally-qualified health 
         centers and their Medicaid prospective payment system.

Whereas community, migrant, public housing, and homeless health centers form the 
        backbone of the health care safety net of the United States, providing 
        health care to nearly 6,000,000 of the 53,000,000 people enrolled in the 
        Medicaid Program nationwide;
Whereas health center patients are more likely than the general population to be 
        enrolled in Medicaid, with 36 percent of all health center patients 
        enrolled in Medicaid compared to 12 percent nationally;
Whereas in 1989, Congress established the services of the federally-qualified 
        health center (FQHC) program as a guaranteed benefit under Medicaid to 
        protect the valuable resources intended to assist health centers in 
        caring for the uninsured;
Whereas health centers have doubled the number of uninsured people served since 
        1989, a growth rate more than twice that of the uninsured population of 
        the United States;
Whereas health centers provided 17 percent of all Medicaid and State Health 
        Insurance Program office visits in 2001;
Whereas Medicaid on average contributes 36 percent of a health center's budget, 
        with the remainder provided by Federal grants, State and local 
        governments, Medicare, private contributions, private insurance, and 
        patient fees;
Whereas the cost of treating health center Medicaid patients is 30 to 34 percent 
        less than the cost of treating those that receive care elsewhere, and 
        similarly, 26 to 40 percent lower for prescription drug costs, 35 
        percent lower for diabetics, and 20 percent lower for asthmatics;
Whereas health center Medicaid patients are 22 percent less likely to be 
        hospitalized for conditions that were potentially avoidable than those 
        obtaining care elsewhere;
Whereas a bipartisan majority of Congress in 2000 established a prospective 
        payment system (PPS) to ensure that federally-qualified health centers 
        receive sufficient Medicaid funding, thereby striking a balance between 
        protecting the Federal investment in health centers and providing State 
        flexibility in designing the payment system for these centers;
Whereas the prospective payment system has allowed States to appropriately 
        predict and budget the cost of health center Medicaid expenditures;
Whereas the prospective payment system has allowed health centers to provide and 
        expand primary care services to more people in need, while promoting 
        efficient operation of and ensuring adequate Medicaid reimbursement for 
        these centers;
Whereas without the assurance of sufficient Medicaid funding under the 
        prospective payment system, health centers would be forced to cross-
        subsidize Medicaid underpayments with Federal grant dollars intended to 
        care for the uninsured;
Whereas if the PPS were eliminated or changed, entire communities could be left 
        without any access to primary and preventive health care services, thus 
        undoing decades of investment by Congress in providing a health care 
        safety net;
Whereas health centers provide cost-effective, high-quality health care to the 
        poor of the Nation and the medically underserved, including the working 
        poor, the uninsured, and many high-risk and vulnerable populations; and
Whereas health centers act as a vital safety net in the health delivery system 
        of the Nation, meeting escalating health needs, and reducing health 
        disparities: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of Congress that the Medicaid 
        prospective payment system for the federally-qualified health 
        center program is critical to ensuring that both Medicaid 
        recipients and the uninsured population of the Nation have 
        access to quality affordable primary and preventive care 
        services; and
            (2) Congress recognizes the critical role of health centers 
        as an essential source of health care for millions of Medicaid 
        recipients and uninsured Americans and supports continuation of 
        the prospective payment system in helping to maintain this 
        system of health care.
                                 <all>