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.”