85R8376 RMA-D
By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 54
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)
is a landmark achievement that has enhanced the lives of millions of
Americans by increasing both access to and quality of health care;
and
WHEREAS, Since the law's passage in 2010, more than 21
million people, including 1.7 million Texans, have gained health
insurance coverage, dropping the nation's uninsured rate to a
record low; while our state continues to lead the country with an
uninsured rate 1.75 times higher than the national average, and
although more than 4.3 million Texans still lack coverage, we would
face an even greater problem without this important program; and
WHEREAS, The ACA has benefited Texas families by improving
the affordability of medical care; the law has required health
insurance plans to include preventive services at no extra cost to
consumers and extended mental health and substance use disorder
benefits and federal parity protections to an estimated 62 million
Americans; it has also helped close the Medicare coverage gap for
prescription drugs, saving the program's enrollees in Texas nearly
$1 billion; and
WHEREAS, The law has prohibited a number of discriminatory
practices in the health insurance industry that once precluded
countless people from receiving coverage; in addition to banning
annual and lifetime limits in policies, the law has barred insurers
from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions and from
rescinding policies for any reason other than nonpayment or fraud;
moreover, insurers are no longer allowed to charge women higher
premiums than men for the same coverage; and
WHEREAS, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has
revolutionized health care for the better, as more people now enjoy
the security of health insurance than at any other time in our
nation's history; though it is necessary to continue building on
the law's success with improvements, it is paramount that we uphold
this historic legislation for the millions who currently depend on
it and for the generations to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby urge the United States Congress to preserve the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.