PRINTER'S NO. 4112
No. 617 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY GEORGE, ROONEY, HARHAI, HANNA, McCALL, STURLA,
MANDERINO, COY, SURRA, YUDICHAK, COSTA, PISTELLA, GRUCELA,
OLIVER, WOJNAROSKI, FRANKEL, LEVDANSKY, ORIE, WANSACZ, WALKO,
STABACK, CAPPABIANCA, VAN HORNE, BEBKO-JONES, SHANER,
BELARDI, CORRIGAN, TANGRETTI, DeWEESE, CLARK, SANTONI,
CALTAGIRONE, BARRAR, CURRY, LAUGHLIN, JOSEPHS, SCRIMENTI,
M. COHEN, PESCI, HALUSKA AND TRICH, OCTOBER 11, 2000
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,
OCTOBER 11, 2000
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing the Health Care Financing Administration and
2 health insurers withdrawing their Medicare HMO coverage in
3 any county within Pennsylvania to take immediate steps to
4 ensure that subscribers who live in a county that is not
5 impacted by the insurer's withdrawal are not mistakenly
6 dropped from their plan.
7 WHEREAS, Over a half million senior citizens across the
8 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have been severely affected by the
9 problems of Medicare HMO withdrawals, increases in premiums and
10 decreases in benefit packages effective January 1, 2001; and
11 WHEREAS, This year 65 managed care companies chose not to
12 renew their Medicare+Choice contracts for 2001; and
13 WHEREAS, Seniors on fixed incomes who rely on their Federal
14 and State Governments to provide them with some measure of
15 health care protection are now facing extreme uncertainty; and
16 WHEREAS, Approximately 577,000 Pennsylvania seniors who are
17 members of a Medicare HMO are facing substantial plan coverage
1 changes effective January 1, 2001; and
2 WHEREAS, Ninety thousand of these seniors in 38 counties
3 across this Commonwealth are being dropped from their HMOs; and
4 WHEREAS, Thousands of seniors living in a county from which
5 their Medicare HMO is not withdrawing may be dropped from their
6 plan because their county code for Social Security purposes or
7 their zip code, or both the county code and zip code, is
8 identified as being in the neighboring county from which the
9 Medicare HMO is withdrawing; and
10 WHEREAS, Many of these seniors may not have received
11 information that they need to ensure that these county code or
12 zip code or both code problems are corrected, and other seniors
13 are consistently receiving misinformation from their Medicare
14 HMO regarding the status of their coverage as of January 1,
15 2001; therefore be it
16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
17 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize the Health Care
18 Financing Administration and health insurers withdrawing their
19 Medicare HMO coverage in any county within Pennsylvania to take
20 immediate steps to ensure that subscribers who live in a county
21 that is not impacted by the insurer's withdrawal are not
22 mistakenly dropped from their plan; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
24 the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and
25 Human Services, the members of Congress from Pennsylvania, the
26 Secretary of Aging of the Commonwealth, the Insurance
27 Commissioner of the Commonwealth and each health insurer
28 offering Medicare HMO coverage in Pennsylvania.
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