1.1                             A resolution 
  1.2             memorializing the President and the Congress of the 
  1.3             United States to take whatever action is necessary to 
  1.4             reduce or eliminate the disparities between the states 
  1.5             in Medicare+Choice benefits. 
  1.6      WHEREAS, nearly every American who earns a paycheck pays 
  1.7   the federal Medicare payroll tax, and every Medicare beneficiary 
  1.8   who enrolls in Medicare Part B pays the same monthly Medicare 
  1.9   Part B premium of $45.00; and 
  1.10     WHEREAS, what Medicare beneficiaries receive varies 
  1.11  dramatically depending on the part of the country in which they 
  1.12  live; for example, in parts of Florida, New York, California, 
  1.13  Michigan, and Arizona, seniors enrolled in HMOs receive 
  1.14  prescription drugs, dental, vision, and hearing services free of 
  1.15  an additional premium while seniors in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and 
  1.16  Oregon (among others) pay large HMO premiums to receive similar 
  1.17  benefits; and 
  1.18     WHEREAS, the reimbursement by Medicare does not reflect the 
  1.19  cost of delivering health care; for example, the cost of 
  1.20  delivering health care is estimated to vary only 15 percent 
  1.21  nationwide, but the Medicare reimbursement to physicians, 
  1.22  hospitals, and HMOs varies by 211 percent; and 
  1.23     WHEREAS, the reimbursement rate in Minnesota is too low; 
  1.24  for example, in 2000 Medicare insurers in Hennepin County, 
  1.25  Minnesota, received $458 per beneficiary per month, while an HMO 
  2.1   in Florida received $795 per per month; and 
  2.2      WHEREAS, because of this disparity in Medicare funding, 
  2.3   many managed care plans have dropped their Medicare+Choice plans 
  2.4   in areas where reimbursement does not cover the cost of 
  2.5   providing care at the higher level, and the insurers have gone 
  2.6   back to offering traditional Medigap or Medicare Supplement 
  2.7   plans, and 115,000 seniors alone in Minnesota will lose their 
  2.8   coverage when Medica withdraws from the program and will be 
  2.9   offered the option to join another program, but at lower benefit 
  2.10  levels offered in the supplemental plans; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.11     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  2.12  that it urges the President and the Congress of the United 
  2.13  States to take whatever action is necessary to bring fairness 
  2.14  between the states in the amount of Medicare reimbursements.  
  2.15     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  2.16  State of Minnesota is directed to prepare copies of this 
  2.17  memorial and transmit them to the President of the United 
  2.18  States, the President and the Secretary of the United States 
  2.19  Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of 
  2.20  Representatives, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in 
  2.21  Congress.