[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 400 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 400

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 29, 2015

 Mr. Pallone (for himself, Mr. Levin, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Matsui, Mr. 
   Clyburn, Mr. Becerra, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Van 
 Hollen, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. 
   Grijalva, Mr. Engel, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Tonko, Ms. 
Frankel of Florida, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Nadler, 
   Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. 
 Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. 
Deutch, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Castor 
    of Florida, Mr. Higgins, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Scott of 
    Virginia, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Speier, Ms. Hahn, Mr. 
    Connolly, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. 
     McNerney, Mr. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Mr. DeFazio, Mrs. 
    Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Payne, Ms. Judy Chu of 
   California, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Cummings, Mr. 
    Cartwright, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Lee, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. 
 Bonamici, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Huffman, Mr. 
Cicilline, Mr. Farr, Mr. Neal, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Clarke of New 
York, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. 
    Cohen, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Bass, Mr. 
    Norcross, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Ellison, Mr. 
Langevin, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Welch, Ms. Esty, 
Mrs. Capps, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Rush, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Kennedy, 
 Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Nolan, Ms. 
Slaughter, Mr. Honda, Mr. Takano, Mr. Schrader, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of 
   Pennsylvania, Mr. Foster, Mr. Lowenthal, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. 
   Moore, Mr. Lipinski, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. 
 Serrano, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mrs. Lowey, 
Mr. Sires, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Carney, Mrs. Bustos, Ms. Fudge, 
Mr. Kind, Mr. Polis, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Richmond, Ms. 
 Tsongas, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Loretta 
   Sanchez of California, Mr. Ashford, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Kildee, Mr. 
 Capuano, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. 
   Clay, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. 
 Bishop of Georgia, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Adams, Ms. Titus, 
 Mr. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Costa, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
Ms. Brownley of California, Mr. Walz, Mr. Vela, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, 
 Mr. Heck of Washington, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Visclosky, Mr. 
Sherman, and Mr. Kilmer) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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, 55,000,000 
        seniors and people with disabilities have access to guaranteed health 
        care benefits;
Whereas today, more than 71,000,000 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 patient harms, 
        50,000 lives saved and $12 billion in health spending avoided between 
        2010 and 2013 alone;
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, more than 9,400,000 seniors have saved more 
        than $15,000,000,000 on their prescription drugs as a result of closing 
        the Medicare Part D coverage gap;
Whereas, in 2014 alone, an estimated 39,000,000 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 
        more than 60 percent of nursing home residents, picking up the majority 
        of the Nation's total 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 House of Representatives 
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 71,000,000 Americans.
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