There are several components to the governor’s just-annouced, multi-billion dollar health care plan. So download the press release here. I assume that the press release will eventually appear at his “Illinois Covered” website, which can be found here.
* Initial AP coverage:
Blagojevich’s plan has several parts.
For people below the federal poverty level, there would be a free new program called “Illinois Covered - Assist.” This would primarily serve people without children, who cannot join existing programs such as Medicaid and FamilyCare.
For people who cannot obtain insurance through their jobs, the state would offer “Illinois Covered - Choice.” That would be low-cost coverage that regular insurance companies would be required to provide. The state would help people pay the insurance premiums, with the amount of help based on their income.
People making more than four times the poverty level would be able to get this coverage, but the state would not help them pay for it. Businesses that can’t afford to provide insurance for their employees would be able to offer it through this program.
The state would also offer “Illinois Covered - Rebate” for people who can’t afford the insurance offered through their jobs. Essentially, the state would help them pay the premiums for existing insurance programs.
Finally, the state would expand eligibility for existing programs that serve some parents and disabled people who are returning to work.
* Sun-Times:
Employers who do not provide health insurance would have to pay an assessment to the state. This would cover part of the cost of Illinois Covered. But Maisch said assessments might force some employers to reduce operations or shut down.
Blagojevich will identify other funding sources in his budget address Wednesday.
Lobbyists and experts in state finance said Blagojevich has been considering a new levy on all business transactions, called a gross receipts tax. Maisch said such a tax would be “catastrophic for the economy.”
The state expects about 500,000 residents — roughly one-third of the uninsured — to sign up for Illinois Covered.
“It’s nice to expand coverage, but two-thirds will get nothing,” said Nicholas Skala of Illinois Health Care for All, which advocates a government plan like Medicare for all residents.
* Copley:
To prevent employers from dropping their own insurance and leaving workers uninsured, the plan would require an 18-month waiting period in most cases before newly uninsured workers could get insurance from Illinois Covered’s statewide pool.
But she said state officials expect some in the insurance industry to oppose the pooling, as well as the governor’s interest in considering caps on profits that insurers could earn when insuring people in the pool.
*** UPDATE *** I’m not sure exactly where this is in Scripture, but the governor invoked the Almighty yesterday as an all-powerful ally for his health care plan…
“If you can have health care but your neighbor can’t that isn’t how God intended it to be.”
And…
“We are all God’s children,” the Democratic governor said. “He intended for all of us to have an equal opportunity to live good, quality lives and to have equal opportunity to have access to things like fundamental quality health care.”
- Won't get fooled again - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 4:42 pm:
If these ideas came from anybody but Rod, they might be worth exploring at least in the abstract, but I have zero confidence this administration knows what it is doing, much less how to achieve the stated goals of this expansion. Based on the track record of the veteran’s RX and I-save RX and All-Kids, I would say he’s already had three swings and at best scored a foul tip. The new progams being proposed are of the same mode: lots of energy (and money) spent on the press releases and photo-ops and slogans, and zero on the follow-up and actual nuts and bolts.
I would prefer to see Rod pay for existing bills first and get his hands dirty fixing the electric rates fiasco first.
- Cassandra - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 4:46 pm:
I thought I read that the proposal also includes guaranteed access to health care in Illinois…that is, you cannot be turned down for health insurance because of a pre-existing condition if you apply as an Illinois resident.
That would be an improvement even for the 2/3 who would not directly benefit because I believe that currently in Illinois insurance companies can deny applicants health insurance. This is worrisome for all without health insurance, especially those for whom access to public hospitals is difficult.
The 2/3 ineligible for the welfare-type assistance would likely have more finanical resources as well.
I think the Congress should just expand Medicare to everybody, but they are too busy spending our money in Iraq. Overall, this plan doesn’t look too bad.
- Elder - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 6:40 pm:
This is why I like Blagojevich, and why so many poor and working people voted for him. This is an old fashioned use of government to deal with a failure in the market. Thank you Governor!
- DRB - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 6:54 pm:
I hereby prognosticate this plan, should it be implemented, will be an unquestionable disaster for businesses in Illinois and citizens of Illinois.
I believe this is nothing other than another Blago tax increase. If you want health coverage, buy it. Should the state now start taxing everyone to provide computers for every household? Why not cars and airplanes next?
This will likely lead to a mass exodus of the producers from Illinois. Might as well call this Illifare.
- Squideshi - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 8:40 pm:
The Illinois Green Party supports a single-payer universal healthcare system in Illinois, as Nicholas Skala proposes.
- JohnR - Sunday, Mar 4, 07 @ 10:58 pm:
I think the tribune and sun times stories are misleading.
The largest part of this plan seems to be the so-called “Illinois Covered Rebate”.
If what I read is correct - everyone who makes under 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (which is $80,000 for a family of 4… a lot of people), will be able to get a REBATE for their health care premiums.
I would surmise that maybe half the state would qualify for that. That seems like a helluva bigger deal than the new program for the poor.
- Tony - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 12:03 pm:
I think the press conference was at a church? Were many of the people in attendance from the congregation? I guess it really doesn’t matter but I am not sure it was wise to word it that way. Does this make employers that are in opposition and will get further pinched the devil? Evildoers I say! Evildoers!
- sceptical - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 12:17 pm:
I agree with “won’t be fooled again”. This seems very similar to the All Kids insanity and before that all of the KidCare roll out. While I applaud the gov. and his attempts to insure all of Illinois his policies are bells and whistles and no research. He continues to create new programs without thought towards the consequence… are they sustainable, who will pay for it, and who will implement this program. Caseworkers at the IDHS offices are overworked (caseload sizes upwards of 900 families) and underpaid and they simply can’t absorb any new programs.
In addition there is a wait of over 6 months for individuals with disabilities to recieve their medical card though the state. In some cases people have died while waiting for a card or attempting to navigate the spend-down system.
Illinios should work better funding for the programs that we already have before we continue to grow the policy.
- RMW Stanford - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 12:30 pm:
As it already mention it seems like this is going to be another All Kids mess, except much more expensive for the public and coming with a nice big tax increase that will hurt the state business climate and raise prices for consumers.
- Utility Infielder - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 12:51 pm:
There are so many things that are not thought through with this plan that I don’t even know where to start. Doctors are bailing out of the Kids Care program because they are not getting paid. Will they treat any of us if they know they will not get paid. It won’t matter if the plan is free if we can’t get treatment.
- Papa Legba - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 1:09 pm:
Blago has said some stupid things, but this has to be one of the most idiotic.
‘’If you can have health care but your neighbor can’t … that isn’t how God intended it to be,'’ Blagojevich said Sunday from the steps of a downtown Chicago church.
I have to move this statement to the top of my list of stupid utterances.
Where are Bradley and Lon when you need a snappy sound bite?
- Cassandra - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 1:12 pm:
To what extent is Allkids a mess? I believe that children are being signed up and I haven’t heard of any major delays. Nor have I heard that middle and upper middle class parents are leaping out of more expensive plans to take advantage of the cheaper Medicaid card. I don’t think that we should be covering illegals of any age (private and hospital charity care can cover illegals)
but that’s not a reason not to do the program.
Allkids could probably be better structured but
sometimes you have to go with what is possible.
Are critics saying that because of the alleged lack of doctors taking the state card, we should simply leave hundreds of thousands of Illinoisians uninsured so that the rest of us can enjoy the benefits and access to care that we already have. This seems like a very high price to pay, not to say a rather inhumane view of the problem. Or maybe the uninsured should just go without health care for a few more years or decades until somebody “figures it out.”
- Papa Legba - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 1:32 pm:
Cassandra,
What part of [no participating doctors = no health care provided] don’t you get?
- He Makes Ryan look like a saint - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 1:41 pm:
Well, God almighty might be speaking to Rod, but I don’t think Rod is returning his phone calls. What HE is saying is I put all people on earth to have an equil opportunity to make something of themselves. Not to SPONGE off the government.
Also, ON 60 minutes last night, they talked about medicare and SS bankrupting the feds do to increased cost (especially Medical care) This is going to take down Illinois.
At least when business leaves the state, the people they leave behind will have health insurance.
- Cassandra - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 2:45 pm:
Papa,
The solution is not to limit health insurance to the well-off and the very poor. There may well be problems with access to physicians downstate because of what is actually a national shortage of physicians in rural areas. And perhaps the government should be doing more to attract physicians to rural areas. But that doesn’t mean that health insurance should be unavailable to other groups who have legitimate difficulty paying for it. Perhaps if there were more money available for health care expenses, there would be more physicians willing to work in understaffed areas.
In addition, health insurance pays for hospitalization, which is what can really bankrupt people. I’m not aware that there is a shortage of hospital beds in Illinois.
- Fed up - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 2:53 pm:
lets see entitlement programs are running double digit cost increases every year. the states pensions are chronicly underfunded. the public schools are underfunded and buisnesses go to indiana or down south because of ILL. tax situation. God is telling blag to do what Ryan did make a big splash in the news and try misdirection before the FEDS come lock you up. We cannot afford a huge tax increase. Blago promised no new taxes to get elected one of his many lies
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 3:07 pm:
DRB, for someone who was so flat-out wrong about why utility rates rose, I’m not sure you qualify to prognosticate about the impact of these taxes on Illinois businesses.
- NW burbs - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 3:29 pm:
Rich wrote, “the governor invoked the Almighty yesterday as an all-powerful ally for his health care plan…”
If the guv wants to rely on the Good Word go ahead and let him. We all know his opponents sure invoke the Word of God often enough for their own political pursuits. Heck, conservative Christianists even go to great lengths to repeatedly question the faith of those they consider their enemy in a civil war that they forgot to tell the rest of us Americans about. (…And conservatives wonder why they get connected to Eric Rudolph and Tim McVeigh on a routine rhetorical basis.)
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 3:39 pm:
You have a good point, NW Burbs, but a governor who claims to divine the intent of his God in a legislative battle would mean that everyone who would oppose even small parts of the legislation could be painted as being anti-God. That is not a healthy development, regardless of what side of the aisle it comes from.
- He Makes Ryan look like a saint - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 3:48 pm:
Rich, when can we expect your take on the new “revenue” proposal to pay for this? I am sure you are hearing from the different Lobbiest on this. I look forward to it.
- Utility Infielder - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 3:58 pm:
Cassandra, I’m sure you mean well so I’m not picking on you..but, we need to find a way to insure the uninsured 15% of Illinoisans without throwing the 85% of the insureds up for grabs. Also keep in mind that the Dr’s medical malpractice insurance rates continue to rise while they would be expected to accept less money from medicaid type programs. He Makes Ryan look like a Saint. I’m glad someone brought up last night’s 60 min program. It’s not just “they” who were talking about the country going bankrupt. It was David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States. This is serious stuff!
- Utility Infielder - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 4:22 pm:
I was going to spare you this one but I have to go out. What do they call a Hospital that is 100% government funded? Walter Reed.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 4:35 pm:
“He Makes Ryan look like a saint” I’ve already written about this in the Fax and have posted several stories here.
- HoosierDaddy - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 4:48 pm:
Speaking of GOD, how in His Holy Name is the state going to pay for this? Was that in the plan? Did I miss it?
- A Citizen - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 4:54 pm:
Who do you trust more? Blago or Richard Daley? The Sun Times poll has it 79%TRUST Daley and a paltry 20% trust Blago. Maybe we need to pay for the government we have before taking on more. And a total overhaul of the taxing system permanently ridding our state of the personal property tax is long overdue. Bottomline the governor cannot be trusted - let’s watch closely the shell game he unwraps Wednesday. Best can be said is that he is a bait and switch scam artist.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 5:06 pm:
“A Citizen,” that’s not a real poll. And there were only a few hundred people who clicked on the answers.
- B Hicks - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 5:15 pm:
Nothing to do with this thread, but your brothers band sounds great. Misfits, Smut Peddlers, and Ramones; I can hear a little of each.
I wish they would have opened for the Goo Goo dolls last night in Charleston. They would have done a better job than Augustana.
Man I felt old.
- Concerned Voter - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 5:48 pm:
First, here comes yet another expense for the business community. Either offer health care you will pay a penalty for not offering it. Wonder if that’s the cheaper way to go, just pay the state and let them deal with the healthcare issue.
Second, I read somewhere that any healthcare company operating in Illinois would have to participate, so I guess some companies might leave, if the state’s current track record of “timely” payment were to continue.
Third, are we going to get people from surrounding states wanting to move to Illinois to use the system.
And last, “We are all God’s children,†the Democratic governor said. “He intended for all of us to have an equal opportunity to live good, quality lives.” So, since it’s not being used, why hasn’t he opened up the mansion as a homeless shelter or a veteran’s home
- NW burbs - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 6:32 pm:
Rich, I agree.
The current political environment is proof that your hypothetical scenario has come to fruition. In other words, it’s not a forthcoming development in the general sense — it’s already here. Welcome back to the Ever-Growing. Spanish Inquisition. And clearly will be back in style for quite some time.
(And I only choose links to Fran Eaton/Ill Review out of convenience. There are a legion of other conservative Christianist statements out there in America — some worse, some more reasonable — but each choosing to pit neighbor vs. neighbor, nonethless.)
- Truthful James - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 6:34 pm:
Prosperity comes with the distribution of wealth into an economy. Businesses, especially manufacturing businesses are the engine of distribution. The latter acquire raw material and produce finished goods, selling them at least in part outside of the local economy. The difference between the cost of goods produced and their agrregate selling price is called Value Added by Manufacture. Plants located in Illinosi produce tha value which is distributed in wages and salaries and in the form of the local purchase of additional raw materials to put into the production line. This is an income multiplier in an area as the money distributed to employees and sellers of raw materials is used like a waterfall throughout the local economy.
In this century we are attempting to develop a service economy. Insofar as services are exported out of the area (and receipts are locally received) we can create a new category “Value Created by Services and have the value cascade through the local (Illinois economy.)
But we are under attack from two sources. First our very own corporations have exported manufacturing jobs to cheaper venues — first to Japan; next, when prices grew to high there, to Korea; thence to China and finally into south Asia. We lost some, but by no means all, of our manufacturing jobs. We did lure foreign car makers to produce vehicles here. To the extent that they are not mere assembly plants we retrievd some of the first Value.
Now, with the development of the internet, service jobs in Architecture, for instance, can be done anywhere in the world. Most of us have talked with Indian people about our computer problems.
This leaves America with a hollowed out economy, frantically relying on our inventiveness for new manufacturing processes, new types of service.
Within this country the competition for new jobs is fierce. Incentives are offered to locate a plant in one state, to locate a Super Wal Mart.
The fact of the matter is that our spending habits, our accumulation of personal debt, our need for convenience are unmatched. Foreign countries love to sell us goods we can not afford, purchased on what the brits originally called the “never-never” and take the dollars back.
Our savings rates are close to zero, buoyed only be the implied savings as our homes increase in value. Ans then we remortgage to take new money out and spend again.
There seems to be the impression that businesses are flush with money and do nothing with it. Wrong on both counts, especially below the corporate giants. The local business has to succeed to create the beginnings of the cash flows necessary for properity.
Business taxes are paid by and large by the purchasers of their goods and services. Understand that. It has been ever so. If you institute a gross receipt tax at very level of the manufacture of a product, rest assured that it will be embedded at every level of the price. If the Business has a monopoly on a product, price increases caused by the value added tax will take sales away and stimulate the development of an substitutions produced elsewhere. It wiull hurt, among other things, what is called the velocity of money. It will affect prosperity down the chain, generating fewer tax revenues as it happens.
The Comptroller General is going around with economists of all stripes, Keynesians and Monetarists. The country is 47 Trillion dollars in debt, inclding unfunded liabilities. The 60 Minutes segment las night was most enlightening.
The last President reached a budget balanced by the comparing receipts and disbursements. This one owes us the same courtesy.
But then, so dddoes the Congress, our Governor and the Legislature. Control spending, stop the Pork, Substitute for it solid programs. Do it now. Next year may be too late.
- City Voter - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 6:44 pm:
I am happy to know the governor is not God because I have been confused. What is he thinking?
I am concerned on two fronts: taxing the business services in Chicago that are largely mobile and the (in)ability of the state to construct rules and implement a program of this magnitude. Audits from the recent past would suggest that this administration is not doing a great job of running existing programs or meeting basic accounting requirements.
- Just the facts - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 7:41 pm:
Rather than relying upon divine inspiration, the Governor’s proposals seem to be premised upon “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” That philosophical basis for governing has been proven ineffective.
The tax lawyers must be salivating over the prospect of new taxes. Implementation of a gross receipts tax will be great for business. Plus, they will just boost the hourly rates a bit to include the impact of the new tax on their gross receipts.
- A Citizen - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 8:26 pm:
Not to worry, Emil and Mike will likely cool the guvs jets. Heck they might even take his toys away and give him a timeout too.
- Less than thrilled - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 8:27 pm:
How much will Illinois citizens have to pay for healthcare for illegal aliens with this new “Illinois Covered” program. When KidCare changed to AllKids, it allowed coverage for illegal aliens. Are we going to allow our tax dollars to be spent again on people who are not even citizens of our country?
- Tessa - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 8:43 pm:
So, now I’m wondering if this is another program my son will get a letter thanking him for signing up for. I’m still trying to find the family that my 13 year old has that he supposedly enrolled in the last program the Gov rolled out. I wonder if I still have that letter from the Gov thanking him for signing up? I cover the child on my insurance as a state employee, yet my son gets a letter from another state agency thanking him for enrolling.
I trust the Gov’s plan like I’ve trusted everything else for four years now. Not one bit. Just because he made a statement in front of a church, invoking God’s name, doesn’t mean it’s the best thing. This is getting to be scary territory with Blago.
- A Citizen - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 8:50 pm:
The guv had a first term and now a second one. He likes to refer to it as his second coming.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 8:51 pm:
“Less than thrilled” wrote: “Are we going to allow our tax dollars to be spent again on people who are not even citizens of our country?”
There are plenty of non-citizens here (those with green cards) who pay plenty of taxes. Let’s try to be a bit more precise with the reactions.
- A Citizen - Monday, Mar 5, 07 @ 9:55 pm:
Maybe we could connect the cost of this “new” program to energy consumption. The less gasoline, oil, electricity you consume the lower your cost. Wonder how I could get by on that formula? Probably have to buy a wind generator and put it on the Capitol Lawn. Only would work when they’re in session though. Oh well, nuts.
- OAD - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 12:26 am:
“Are we going to allow our tax dollars to be spent again on people who are not even citizens of our country?â€
Aw crap, does this mean we are invading Iran?
- OAD - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 12:29 am:
So the Democratic response to Republicans invoking the almighty in a crass and cynical way is…to invoke the almighty in a crass and cynical way. Memo to Blago, Edwards, Hillary..this is not an improvement.
- Disgusted - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 5:15 am:
The guv’s proposals sound like another load of excrement. Not only is this costly from the taxpayer and business owner’s point of view but it will overtax state employees who administer these state-funded medical programs, when most front liners are doing the jobs of two or more full time staff. Additionally, the cost of reprinting all the paperwork that has already been redesigned and reprinted to make it over from Medicaid to KidCare, then All Kids and now a universal health system. And, in addition to that, there is word on the state street that All Kids is getting its own multimillion dollar building. The spending never stops, folks, and it’s getting worse. This state is rapidly becoming a Black Hole and the people we elect to run it are either too slow on the uptake, uninformed or just plain don’t give a damn. Just like Illinois utilities, the guv’s proposals are smoke and mirrors and will cost us all more than we can afford.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 7:22 am:
I am sure how long he takes dealing with clemency requests is also part of God’s will. I am also sure raising 20 million dollars is part of God’s plan too….
- Honest Abe - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 7:28 am:
How can Blagojevich determine what God thinks while he cannot determine which religion that he and his family belong to? In a candidate profile which aired on WTTW in 2002, it was revealed that the Blagojeviches do not belong to any particular religion. Yes, both the husband and wife were raised by parents who provided for religious education, but Rod and Patti dropped out. When Rod talks about God, I am reminded of Bill Clinton posing for photographers in a Gospel Choir Church. More to the point, how does Illinois pay for a new entitlement when it cannot pay its existing obligations? How does the state differentiate between citizens and undocumented workers in allowing benefits?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 8:03 am:
Take a look at All Kids and I wouldn’t worry too much about this plan. It’s just another attempt by Blago to reinvent his image.
Parents who continue to have children they can’t afford to support are not going to buy into this.
Poor people make poor decisions. Their priorities are not paying for health care.
This is just another attempt by Blago to say look at me I care. They will use their fuzzy math to move people around and out of other programs to trumpet this magnificent accomplishment. In the end it will just be another hugh bogus press release.
The only way these people will sign up is if it’s free.
It will also be another attempt by the administration to offer more programs to illegals.I would assume the Latin Democrat leaders in Chicago are pushing for this.
- A Citizen - Tuesday, Mar 6, 07 @ 10:14 am:
Blago wants to “BORROW” 16 Billion Dollars. If that doesn’t sober you up nothing will. This guy is totally delusional. Only Kjellander is happy about it!