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Little left out of governor's latest health-care plan

Posted August 14, 2007 11:00 pm

Dana Heupel

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's latest plan to expand existing health-care programs to cover more Illinoisans falls short of his earlier proposals - but not by much.

The newest plan would provide health care for the lowest-income Illinoisans - those under 100 percent of the federal poverty level, which is a single person who earns $10,290 or less annually or a couple who makes $13,960 or less. That provision also is in Senate Bill 5, which failed to garner enough votes to pass either chamber of the legislature.

Blagojevich said Tuesday he would implement that program - called Illinois Covered Assist, the same as in the legislation - by executive order. He estimated the cost at $200 million and said it would allow 302,000 now-uninsured Illinoisans to receive primary health care through a single provider, along with prescription benefits and hospital services.

The plan announced Tuesday also would provide financial assistance for working families who already have health insurance but whose incomes are at or below 300 percent of the poverty level, $61,950 for a family of four.

Qualified applicants would get state subsidies of up to 20 percent of the premiums they pay for health insurance, with a maximum of $1,000 per year. That initiative resembles the Illinois Covered Rebate program outlined in SB5. The governor's office estimated it would cost $155 million and could cover up to 1.9 million working people who fall within the income range, although some may already have affordable insurance coverage.

The latest plan also includes an expansion of FamilyCare, which provides health coverage to low-income parents with children 18 and younger who have been uninsured for at least 12 months. Under current guidelines, a family of four would need to earn $38,208 or less to qualify, according to the FamilyCare Web site. Blagojevich on Tuesday said he would increase that to $82,600, or 400 percent of the poverty level.

That expansion, which also is in SB5, would cost $43 million and would encompass 147,000 parents who now have no health insurance, according to the governor's office.

Blagojevich said he also would add coverage for 19- to 21-year-olds with pre-existing medical conditions who are too old for the state's All Kids insurance program. The new insurance plan would be administered by the state's Comprehensive Health Insurance Program and would serve 7,000 patients in that age group at a cost of $15 million, the governor's office said.

Additionally, the governor said his new plan would offer breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment for all 261,000 uninsured women in the state, at a cost of $50 million.

The total cost of all the new proposals would be $463 million, the governor's office said, and they would serve an estimated 717,000 Illinoisans.

SB5 also contains a provision that would guarantee affordable private insurance for small businesses and individuals with incomes below 300 percent of the poverty rate. That proposal, which the governor's office called Illinois Covered Choice, was not included in Blagojevich's latest announcement. Also not included was an educational program dubbed the Roadmap to Health.

Blagojevich said Tuesday, however, that he plans to announce other health-care initiatives.

Dana Heupel can be reached at (217) 788-1518 or dana.heupel@sj-r.com.

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