Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Illinois Governor Pushes Expansion Of Public Health Plans, Rejected By Committee
Last week, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich declared a healthcare emergency and expanded state-sponsored health insurance to any family earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
Under the expansion, state lawmakers said the Illinois FamilyCare program would cost state taxpayers an estimated $300 million every year, reported the Daily Herald.
Governor Blagojevich also changed the rules of one state healthcare program which allowed parents to stay covered if they lose their insurance from the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The moves were widely rejected by state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, because they implemented the expansion and rules without approval from state Congress. They also pointed out that the state did not have the funds to pay for the expansion.
“No matter how you feel about healthcare, this isn’t a proper way for an initiative that’s this important, to kind of slide it through this way,” said Republican state Senator Randy Hultgren.
But Blagojevich’s proposals were subject to approval by a 12 member rules-making committee, which rejected the healthcare changes in a vote of 9 to 2.
“I don’t think the 12 members of this panel ought to be the body that decides, for the whole state of Illinois, whether or not a plan like this takes place,” said state Representative and Democrat Lou Lang. “This [should] be done through the legislature.”
Even though the committee rejected the proposed changes, Blagojevich’s administration is still working on other healthcare expansions, wrote the Chicago Tribune. The governor is still concerned that the state’s estimated 20,000 parents may lose their SCHIP coverage because of the standstill in Washington.
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