Blago's King George impersonation
News flash to Rod Blagojevich: For a died-in-the-wool Democrat, you're acting an awful lot like President Bush.
Indeed, whether he's demanding special summer legislative sessions or disemboweling the state budget, the governor has copied a page from "The Decider's" playbook, taking executive privilege to new levels. And he has Bush-like disapproval ratings to show for it. Blagojevich's latest power play came last week after a bipartisan legislative panel turned down his proposal to dramatically expand the state's FamilyCare health insurance program.
On Nov. 7, the Blagojevich administration filed an "emergency" rule that sought to add 147,000 adults to FamilyCare's rolls. Days later the Legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) - which has oversight on rules promulgated by state agencies, in this case the Department of Healthcare and Family Services - voted it down. Undaunted, the governor forged ahead. An internal memo obtained Friday instructs state caseworkers to start enrolling the additional adults. It's as if the state lawmakers who said no don't exist.
In the governor's eyes they don't, at least in any official capacity. "JCAR's role is merely advisory - it does not have the constitutional authority" to block the rule, contends Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff, citing case law in this and other states. Why, then, make panelists, including Rep. David Leitch and Sen. Dan Rutherford, bother to vote? For "their input and advice," says Ottenhoff. The governor "appreciates their advice."
Whether or not his administration can supersede JCAR - we expect a legal challenge - Blagojevich sure has an odd way of showing his appreciation. Had he truly listened to those lawmakers, he would have heard their concerns about the wisdom of expanding state health care, to the tune of $225 million to $360 million a year, when Illinois can't keep up with the $1 billion in bills it perpetually owes to health-care providers.
Furthermore, given the uncertainty of federal dollars upon which the state relies to pay for adults in FamilyCare, it's madness to expand the program.
Indeed, FamilyCare draws some federal reimbursements through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). However, Congress wants SCHIP dollars to pay for kids only. That means Illinois must try to get Medicaid reimbursements instead for 130,000 of its FamilyCare participants, those who earn between 134 percent and 185 percent of federal poverty level.
That was the real reason behind this month's emergency rule: to move thousands of adults to Medicaid so that they don't lose their coverage. But true to form, Blagojevich took it a step further by raising FamilyCare's income eligibility to 400 percent of federal poverty level. Uncle Sam certainly isn't paying for that. And we seriously doubt Illinois can afford to.
That's what is most galling about this governor. He says he wants to help people who can't pay for private insurance. But the state programs he offers them are built on perilous fiscal fault lines, with reimbursements so low and so late that many doctors, dentists and pharmacists don't want to participate. That makes health care less accessible, not more, defeating the governor's purpose.
If Illinois really has hundreds of millions to kick around, as Blagojevich says, he should ensure the viability of existing programs and the health of existing enrollees by paying those providers. Sometimes, it's hard to see the obvious from one's perch atop the throne.