| 1 | 1 | | 85R8376 RMA-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Reynolds H.C.R. No. 54 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) |
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| 7 | 7 | | is a landmark achievement that has enhanced the lives of millions of |
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| 8 | 8 | | Americans by increasing both access to and quality of health care; |
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| 9 | 9 | | and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Since the law's passage in 2010, more than 21 |
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| 11 | 11 | | million people, including 1.7 million Texans, have gained health |
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| 12 | 12 | | insurance coverage, dropping the nation's uninsured rate to a |
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| 13 | 13 | | record low; while our state continues to lead the country with an |
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| 14 | 14 | | uninsured rate 1.75 times higher than the national average, and |
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| 15 | 15 | | although more than 4.3 million Texans still lack coverage, we would |
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| 16 | 16 | | face an even greater problem without this important program; and |
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| 17 | 17 | | WHEREAS, The ACA has benefited Texas families by improving |
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| 18 | 18 | | the affordability of medical care; the law has required health |
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| 19 | 19 | | insurance plans to include preventive services at no extra cost to |
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| 20 | 20 | | consumers and extended mental health and substance use disorder |
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| 21 | 21 | | benefits and federal parity protections to an estimated 62 million |
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| 22 | 22 | | Americans; it has also helped close the Medicare coverage gap for |
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| 23 | 23 | | prescription drugs, saving the program's enrollees in Texas nearly |
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| 24 | 24 | | $1 billion; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, The law has prohibited a number of discriminatory |
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| 26 | 26 | | practices in the health insurance industry that once precluded |
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| 27 | 27 | | countless people from receiving coverage; in addition to banning |
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| 28 | 28 | | annual and lifetime limits in policies, the law has barred insurers |
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| 29 | 29 | | from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions and from |
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| 30 | 30 | | rescinding policies for any reason other than nonpayment or fraud; |
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| 31 | 31 | | moreover, insurers are no longer allowed to charge women higher |
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| 32 | 32 | | premiums than men for the same coverage; and |
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| 33 | 33 | | WHEREAS, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has |
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| 34 | 34 | | revolutionized health care for the better, as more people now enjoy |
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| 35 | 35 | | the security of health insurance than at any other time in our |
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| 36 | 36 | | nation's history; though it is necessary to continue building on |
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| 37 | 37 | | the law's success with improvements, it is paramount that we uphold |
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| 38 | 38 | | this historic legislation for the millions who currently depend on |
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| 39 | 39 | | it and for the generations to come; now, therefore, be it |
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| 40 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 41 | 41 | | hereby urge the United States Congress to preserve the Patient |
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| 42 | 42 | | Protection and Affordable Care Act; and, be it further |
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| 43 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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| 44 | 44 | | copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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| 45 | 45 | | the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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| 46 | 46 | | Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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| 47 | 47 | | members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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| 48 | 48 | | this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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| 49 | 49 | | memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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