* I wondered about this quote as well…

If you heard Barack Obama’s Iowa victory speech, you might conclude Illinois has universal health care.

“I’ll be a president who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American, the same way I expanded health care in Illinois, by bringing Democrats and Republicans together to get the job done,” the Chicago Democrat said Thursday.

But Illinois doesn’t have universal health care.

He didn’t say he made health care “universal,” only that he “expanded” it in Illinois. Still, if you didn’t pay close attention you may have missed that distinction.

More from the piece…

“He has united Democrats and Republicans to expand health care to over 150,000 Illinois residents,” said campaign spokesman Ben LeBolt.

LeBolt said Obama helped expand Family Care that covers parents and their children by raising income levels so more would qualify. And he pointed to Obama being the chief sponsor of the Health Care Justice Act, which created a commission charged with making suggestions for how to improve and expand coverage.

* Here’s some more background on the bill from Politifact, which took a look at Obama’s claim that he had added more than 150,000 people to the health insurance rolls last September….

The statement is based on a 2003 law Obama sponsored when he was an Illinois state senator. His bill expanded income eligibility for KidCare and FamilyCare, the state health insurance programs for low-income families. Gov. Ron Blagojevich, a Democrat, signed the bill on July 1, 2003.

Obama’s bill worked by increasing the amount of money a family could earn and still qualify for health insurance. Before Obama’s bill, families had to make less than 185 percent of the federal poverty line; after Obama’s bill, they had to make less than 200 percent. In practice, this meant that before Obama’s bill, a family of three couldn’t make more than $28,236 to qualify. After Obama’s bill they could make up to $30,516 and still qualify.

After the new law passed, both programs saw sizable increases in enrollment. Children’s enrollment increased by 55,421 between 2003 and 2005, according to a study from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Adult enrollment increased by 100,458 between 2003 and 2006. That comes to a total of 155,879. So after Obama’s legislation passed, more than 150,000 people did get health insurance.

However…

The numbers for new enrollees don’t distinguish between those who would have qualified without Obama’s legislation, and those who needed his legislation to be able to join.

* Ironically, the state commission set up by an Obama bill to look at how to provide universal health care included this provision…

The proposal’s key feature is an individual mandate, under which the state would require all residents to obtain health coverage. It also would force employers to provide health coverage to their workers or pay into a state fund–an idea known as “pay or play.”

Candidate Obama has rejected Sen. Hillary Clinton’s proposal for individual mandates. Clinton has repeatedly slammed Obama for this omission.

* Meanwhile, the latest aggregate polling data from Pollster.com shows Obama with a large lead over Clinton in New Hampshire. Note the spike…