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Buried in an AP story this afternoon about All Kids enrollment is this golden nugget:
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services says so far about 45,000 kids have signed up.That includes 40,000 who already qualified for state coverage but hadn’t signed up and 5,000 kids who didn’t qualify until All Kids was created.
Did you get that? Almost 90 percent of All Kids’ total enrollment right now would have qualified for existing state healthcare services.
Is there a need for healthcare for kids? Yes. Is there a demand for All Kids from families who didn’t qualify for state assistance before this year? So far, not so much. Of the total enrollment for All Kids, just eleven percent are the children whom the program was supposedly designed to serve.
[emphasis added]
UPDATE: Blogger foleyma posted an All Kids acceptance letter online and it shows two things. 1) It’s still being billed as “Governor Blagojevich’s All Kids” and 2) Parents who enrolled their children by the deadline are apparently getting comped for their first month. Click on the pic for a larger view. [jpg file]
UPDATE 2: I think comments are being hit with a coordinated counter-spin.
This response prevails:
The program just started July 1st. I think you are looking at the numbers wrong. To have enrolled 45,000 and 5,000 to be for a new program with just 11 days started is a reflection on the need.
They’ve been pre-enrolling for months, so that bit of spin is not accurate at all. Please, whoever you are, get off the script and engage. Or go away.
UPDATE 3: Also, this program was specifically billed as help for middle class and working class families that make too much to qualify for state aid. These are the governor’s own words on the All Kids website:
Of the 250,000 children in Illinois without health insurance, more than half come from working and middle class families who earn too much to qualify for state programs like KidCare, but not enough to afford private health insurance. Through All Kids, comprehensive health insurance will be available to every uninsured child at rates their parents can afford.
About half of the children without healthcare belong to families who are Medicaid eligible, but those families make up almost 90 percent of the total enrollees in All Kids to date.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:24 pm
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One of my gripes with All Kids is the publicity campaign.
If you were trying to inform parents about a new program for children, wouldn’t you direct your outreach at parents through schools, physicians, etc.
The advertising buys seem to be directed at a general audience.
And when one learns that the outreach has only enrolled 5,000 children it seems reasonable to ask, “How much has Illinois spent on publicity per child enrolled in the program?”
I suspect Illinois has spent about $1,000 in advertising per child enrolled. There are a bunch of ads.
The ad campaign is effective at shoring up support among liberals for Blagojevich’s re-election. And I suspect this is a major consideration for how Illinois has publicized All Kids.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:42 pm
This is a surprise? If the 40,000 already qualify for something else, why don’t they sign up for the existing programs they are currently qualified to join? The money is already in these existing programs isn’t it? That way All Kids needs a far smaller dollar total because of a far smaller enrollment. That makes sense to me.
Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:49 pm
It’d be easy to pile-on these figures in a “told you so” way. But it takes a lot of time to ramp-up the outreach that’s needed to really help inform families of what options are open to them … both brand-new options and existing ones that they didn’t really know about, for whatever reason. (And an often-overlooked and under-reported component of “All Kids” was its pledge of bigger, better outreach work on the existing KidCare/Medicaid programs, to help enroll more already-eligible kids. That’s what’s happening here.) Although a lot of people grow understandably weary of Blago’s “look at me! look at me!” way of trumpeting these things, the fact of the matter today is that 45,000 more kids will be getting health care who didn’t have it before. Let’s not overlook that welcome news.
Comment by Cap'n Crud Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:49 pm
Hmmm!
Guess it was not the big budget buster after all
And some kids from lower income familes get some healthcare,
Sounds like something Judy Bore should stop in favor of fat raises for the MC’s
Comment by Reddbyrd Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:55 pm
So much for hair do’s claiming that there is a dire need for kids health care. It sounds a little like the importing drugs from Canada program. Big noise, little success
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 4:58 pm
Typical Blago. The noise and expense once again far exceed the need. Pardon me for being a skeptic, but I still think “All Kids” is nothing more than another campaign prop for the boy wonder.
Comment by Roadkill Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:13 pm
So…
The program has only been in effect for a week and you are calling it a complete failure?
It takes about 30 days for a medicaid application to be processed. That 5,000 was probably the first applications that were submitted. The people I work with at healthcare and family services say they have gotten more than triple the applications they have ever seen.
Comment by sam Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:14 pm
Oh Redd, for god’s sake.
31 new jobs X what, 40K a year?
+
24 new temps at a cost of $70,000 a month since April
=
$1.5 million.
And we haven’t even given these people supplies, like paper to write on! And that doesn’t count the publicity campaign! And…
Oh, hell, it’s not worth it.
Comment by RickG Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:15 pm
Just to clarify my frustration:
You can’t take credit for the 40,000 other children. Is it good that they have health care? Absolutely. Could we have achieved much the same goal by putting forth 1/5 of the money pledged to All Kids and creating a direct campaign to recruit more children into the current programs? Most likely. And THAT I would have supported.
It’s not about what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s about doing the best you can with what you have to work with. That’s the real problem here — no one wants to take a hard, serious look at what they actually have to work with…and then distribute the resources in a manner that helps everybody, not just special interests or future voters. It happens on both sides of the aisle. And I’m paying for it, and so is everyone else on this blog and everyone else in the state. And it sickens me.
Comment by RickG Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:31 pm
Hundreds of thousands spent in Tv commercials and printed PR, all with Blago’s name on it in triplicate, to get just 5,000 new sign-ons, for a program where we still don’t know if any more doctors can afford to sign on and support it. Because the state is so late paying Medicare bills. So they can spend the money on P.R. for this program…. but the doctors may not… help, we’re stuck in a recurring loop!
You want to see how this will end, just google or wiki Tennesee’s “Tenncare” program.
This has been NOTHING but a cynical and transparent campaign commercial since the beginning, and actually making the progam work or make sense was never a consideration in the Blago camp.
All Kids? All lies, more like it.
Comment by AllPuffery Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:45 pm
so, the state has enrolled 10 percent of the 50,000 they planned to enlist in the program this fiscal year? why is this a bad thing? the fiscal year started less than 2 weeks ago and they’ve already hit 10 percent of their target with more than 11 months in the fiscal year left. that sounds like they’re on track, not off track. I respect many of you on this blog, but I think you’re jumping the gun here.
as for those who say the admin can’t take “credit” for what they’ve enrolled since last fall…of course they can. they’re operating the program and have increased funding for kidcare for the last 2 years, which means they can bring more kids online. plus, I believe they increased rates for pediatricians so there would be more docs to serve these kids. so, we all may be able to criticize this admin in other areas, but this just isn’t one of them guys.
Comment by a friend Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:51 pm
At least there are more enrollees in this program that Blago’s much bally-hooed Canada prescription drug progam. How people signed up for that? 1,000?
The ratio of Blago’s PR noise to the actual impact of his programs is approaching infinity.
Comment by Maroon Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:55 pm
Wait, let’s read the top of it again:
“State officials said they expect to enroll 95,000 kids in the new All Kids health insurance program this year.
That’s nearly double the 50,000 they originally expected to sign up.
All Kids officially started July First and is the nation’s first program to guarantee insurance for all Illinois children.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services said so far about 45,000 kids have signed up.”
The REAL NEWS here folks is that they are signing up TWICE what they originally said in the first year. They said 50,000, they now will have 95,000.
DO THEY HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS!?!?!?!
Comment by tst Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:57 pm
Everyone said all along it was an election gimmick that was being paid for by the taxpayer.Now do you believe it and now do you think we need to send this bunch of morons packing.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:59 pm
friend:
“they’re operating the program and have increased funding for kidcare for the last 2 years, which means they can bring more kids online.”
No problem with increased kidcare funding. Not the issue. Also doesn’t affect All Kids, at least in this discussion.
“plus, I believe they increased rates for pediatricians so there would be more docs to serve these kids.”
Docs I talked to in the last week of June had no idea how many kids they were supposed to be expecting at their offices, or how they were going to get paid.
Also, while I think Puffery goes a bit too far in his assessment, I’m right with the general point: Doctors and health care providers already aren’t getting money they’ve been promised (like paid bills)…I am skeptical the money will be there when it comes time to pay for these services.
Comment by RickG Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 5:59 pm
Don’t be so quick to judge. The All Kids Program is only 11 days old. I think having 5000 families signed up is a great start. I know one of the families who did not qualify for Kid Care but signed up for All Kids. It has been a life saver to that family. You need to be fair on this one and give it a chance. Don’t discount the thousands of kids that it is already helping, even in its infancy.
Comment by scott Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:00 pm
How many really want to enroll in Medicaid? It is Medicaid! Just because you wrap it up and call it something new, doesn’t make it something else.
Comment by Benny Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:03 pm
Scott, the actual program may only be 11 days old, but they’ve been pre-registering for months. So the first part of your point is not accurate.
I strongly agree that healthcare is critically important, it just looks to me like they’re deliberately padding the All Kids numbers with Medicaid eligibles.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:04 pm
What I find interesting is the fact that the state is spending money on subsidized health-care for children while depriving the public colleges and universities of money. Now, statistics show that people with more education make more money. These public schools have to increase tuition rates to make up for the loss in revenue from the state. That results in less people going to college. Which results in less people being able to pay for their childrens’ insurance. See the slippery slope? It goes back to the philosophy of you teach a man to fish. We should be giving money to help people afford insurance, not subsidizing it for them.
Comment by Lovie's Leather Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:09 pm
Does this bunch have a back-up plan when all this red ink we have dries up funding for this program.How long does this group think that they can go with out paying doctors and hospitals.They started enrolling these kids before the ink was dry on the bill passed by the Senate.Once again we have a Blago headline that went nowhere.Remember the drug plan and all the others.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:09 pm
All Kids is a program thats needed and useful. The fact that the State has 5000 kids already signed up is a huge plus. Because of All Kids outreach efforts across the state, thousands and thousands of kids were able to be signed up for the existing program. I agree we need to give it a chance and take a look at the families that it’s already helping.
Comment by Susan Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:10 pm
The program just started July 1st. I think you are looking at the numbers wrong. To have enrolled 45,000 and 5,000 to be for a new program with just 11 days started is a reflection on the need.
All Kids is and will help families that can’t afford healthcare. All Kids is a model program that we should be proud of.
Comment by Laura Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:10 pm
Rich,
The first applications for those newly eligible didn’t even get approved until the end of June. While those who were eligible before July have been able to sign up the whole time.
Signing up for healthcare is a process. And you are misleading people to take a cheap shot.
To your second point, they are all uninsured children. Go back and read everything about All Kids. Everything said that half of the uninsured were already eligible for state programs, but just never got the help. That was half of the whole purpose.
Comment by sam Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:15 pm
Sam, it may have also been for that half which were previously Medicaid eligible, but so far that population makes up 90 percent of the total. I don’t get what you’re saying.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:17 pm
Lovie: Another way to look at it is this — unhealthy kids have a much tougher time succeeding at school. Better ensuring and insuring their physical health helps to ensure their academic success, which leads to the diploma, which leads to self-sufficiency, which leads to heads of households being able to afford their own insurance.
Bottom line: Both of the investments you mention are vitally important — health care and higher education. We need to put signficantly more money into both, and quit the zero-sum-game treatment of these critically important public priorities, treating one’s “pro” arguments as the other’s “con” arguments and vice-versa.
Comment by Cap'n Crud Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:24 pm
Covering Kids and Families Illinois salutes Gov. Blagojevich and the All Kids program. This is only the beginning of a historical program that will provide healthcare for all uninsured children in Illinois. We have been working to conduct outreach and enrollment of this newly implemented program and we will continue to see the numbers grow as more and more families become aware of how and where to enroll.
Comment by Covering Kids & Families Illinois Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:26 pm
I wrote last week that someone should check the numbers. They have been signing people up for more than six months, and this is what all they got? My analogy was to a Sox game that ran a seat cushion promotion and attendence was 43,000. Virtually all in attendance were coming to the game anyway, but the PR department claims success for the whole crowd.
Remember too, the savings from primary care case management and disease management for Medicaid clients was supposed to pay for the increased AK costs. Someone should be asking HFS about the PCCM delays and disease management cost overruns in implementing the savings side of the equation. Almost certainly the savings aren’t going to be there to pay the bill this year, so it’s rather fortunate that AK enrollment is weak.
The biggest problem, however, will be access to care. This was always the biggest flaw in my view because AK is simply purchased Medicaid, and Illinois Medicaid is an awful payer in terms of rates and timeliness. Unfortunately affordable coverage doesn’t equate to quality coverage.
Comment by Check the numbers Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:29 pm
Rich, if you want, you could look at the full AP story:
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/15015729.htm
Plus, you are the one who is in error - while people were pre-registered, that just got their application started. The full applications weren’t even available until May. Say you filled out an application in a day (rare), and then sent it in, you still wouldn’t have been approved until the beginning of June (there is a 30-day turnaround).
So, that 5,000 is just applications that have been approved for the newly eligible kids in the past month.
As I said, there is probably 3 times that number of kids, at least, who are in the process of completing their application.
Just promise you will publicly bite your tongue when you are proved wrong, and I will be happy.
Comment by sam Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:30 pm
C’mon now….who’s looking at what facts? The state has been pre-registering kids for 10 months.the goal was to register uninsured kids for healthcare. That happened. Those who were eligible for benefits right away, received benefits thanks to the outreach staff of the All Kids program. Those who didn’t qualify right away got an application in May. It takes a few days to do the app, about 30 days for the state to process it and get it approved. So having 5000 enrolled in 11 days, with thousands more currently being processed, is a great start. The 40000 or so kids who were enrolled during the pre-reg process are only receiving benefits now because of All Kids. You’re wrong with your facts!
Comment by just me Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:32 pm
The news released today by the department of healthcare and family services means that by July 1, 2007 the Governor will have successfully enrolled two-thirds of the 450,000 children that were uninsured in the state when he took office.
The news also proves that the families who work hard and previously were falling through cracks because they made too much for state programs but too little to afford private insurance are taking the opportunity to enroll in this program. The need is clearly there.
And it is also clear that HFS new the need was there and that’s why they budgeted enough to cover all 95,000 of these children expected to enroll in the next year.
While 40,000 of the new enrollments were from previously eligible categories, 5,000 kids who were uninsured and ineligible before July 1st now have health care!
So in 11 days the state is 10 percent of the way to meeting its enrollment goals for the entire 2007 fiscal year.
That seems sensible, steady and on target to me.
Comment by Katie Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:35 pm
Hmmmmm, you have a point, Rich!
All the bloggers extolling the program on this thread use a first name: “Sam,” “Scott,” “Susan,” “Laura,” etc., and the responses looked canned.
This does look mighty fishy.
The Blagojevich Campaign trying to pull another scam.
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:39 pm
Ooops! Now add “Katie,” to the list.
Would the secret Blagojevich Campaign Staffer please stand up?
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:41 pm
“Rod” - While I agree that some of these responses look like they come straight from an All Kids commercial, why can’t anyone defend this program without being accused of writing from a script or working on a campaign?
Mr. Miller himself, after all, started this blog by admitting the need for a healthcare program like All Kids. And the fact that there apparently hasn’t been much of a “demand” yet, whether you’re counting from July 1 or January 1, speaks only to the need for better outreach, not to the merits of the program itself.
The fact remains that there are a bunch of people out there who desperately need health insurance, who wouldn’t have been eligible for Medicaid, and who now will be eligible under All Kids. The only challenge is finding them.
Comment by snuggles Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 6:56 pm
Because is is a huge inflated campaign gimmick, all at taxpayer expense, wrapped a small, albeit legitimate need.
These guys couldn’t do anything on the straight and narrow if you handed them a ruler on a balance beam.
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:01 pm
Because is is a huge inflated campaign gimmick, all at taxpayer expense, wrapped around a small, albeit legitimate need.
These guys couldn’t do anything on the straight and narrow if you handed them a ruler on a balance beam.
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:02 pm
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. You guys really had me fooled with your scripted comments. NOT!
Let’s see. We just cruised past the $3 BILLION mark in unpaid bills to medical providers, maybe that is where some of the 5,000 kids came from. The medical providers own kids. These pharmacists and doctors probably can’t afford health care let alone beans for supper the way the state pays their bills.
The real question here is how many doctors are going to sign on to this half baked scheme when they know they probably won’t get paid for a year or two. My guess is very few. I predict Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, etc. will be having an influx of Illinois doctors running from this gov’s silly a**ed programs that will bankrupt them if they participate.
Comment by Buck Flagojevich Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:03 pm
Oooops. New script. Add snuggles.
Comment by Buck Flagojevich Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:05 pm
All Kids was only a political campaign. The state can’t even pay the medical bills it currently has. I’m sick and tired of paying for other people’s problems. If you can’t afford to have a child - then don’t. Some of these people keep spitting out babies expecting taxpayers to support them. Take birth control or get fixed. I am already paying for my own two children - I don’t want to support anybody elses.
Comment by Anon. Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:05 pm
Hey Rich, looking at the IPs of the posts that seem to be same with different names might be interesting.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:10 pm
Sounds like Medicaid is a huge failure if doctors won’t accept it.
Why should doctors trust IL govt to pay All Kids bills?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:11 pm
So let me get this straight…if you give and educated and informed response because you actually pay attention to the details of the program instead of rambling uniformed, proofless accusations - you clearly work for the Blagojevich campaign? I don’t think so. The truth is too many are blinded by cynicism. There are 45 million people uninsured in this country and many of them are children. If you are uninsured, you perform poorly in schoolbecause you don’t get the preventative care they need, your parents pay out of pocket and go broke if you have a medical program and even worse the privately insured (many of you!) have to keep paying thousands more every year in premiums to cover the cost of the uninsured and this program is a bad idea? Give me a break!
Comment by Katie Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:15 pm
Let’s see….$3.2 million in promotional contracts to attract 5,000 kids. Only $640 per kid. I’m sure the parents would much rather have just had a check!
Comment by S. Illinois Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:23 pm
Katie, first of all, is this a sentence?
“If you are uninsured, you perform poorly in school because you don’t get the preventative care they need, your parents pay out of pocket and go broke if you have a medical program and even worse the privately insured (many of you!) have to keep paying thousands more every year in premiums to cover the cost of the uninsured and this program is a bad idea?
I believe you were the one that mentioned “rambling” . . .
You are taking the “social justice” approach, a hyper-emotional state in which no expenditure is too great if it helps assuage your concience.
We are taking a more practical view, which is they have had months to do this, they have spent plenty on hoopla, and now it turns out that 90% of the enrollees were covered by insurance to begin with.
The objective could have been achieved in a far more efficient manner, but this IS the Blagojevich Administration, after all.
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:24 pm
What a disaster. I adore Ann Marie Murphy and Barry Miram, but the Tribune editorial board is going to have a field day with this one.
If the Chicago Cubs could just recount Greg Maddux’s 20-win season every year and add it to this year’s total, they’d be in great shape.
Blagojevich’s penchant for double-counting is mesmerizing. How long before Democrats in the General Assembly throw him off the bus?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:29 pm
rod: “90% of the enrollees were covered by insurance to begin with.”
90% of the new enrollees were eligible for coverage. they were not enrolled. difference of only a word, but a world of difference for those families.
Comment by snuggles Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:37 pm
Hey look! I work for Judy’s campaign and I will accuse anyone who disagrees with me as working for Rod’s campaign!
Woohoo! I am a capitol fax blog poster!
Comment by JohnR Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 7:51 pm
Well how about the second question so to speak, fans of the plan.
Should it be called and branded as
“Governor Blagojevich’s All Kids”? Heck the name of the state does not even appear in the logo.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:05 pm
I don’t mind people who defend the noble intent of the program, but why must the administration mislead people with the numbers? If 5,000 signed up under the expansion of coverage, then say 5,000 - not 45,000.
Credibility. Try it some time.
Comment by Check the numbers Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:20 pm
no, oneman, it shouldn’t — but this is illinois. when i first moved up here six years ago, i had a hard time adjusting to the fact that there were (it seemed to me) five times as many signs touting gov. ryan as signs actually giving drivers direction. but one of the things that has startled me in doing local campaigns is how tolerant voters are of this kind of thing. people are much more likely to criticize how it’s been done rather than whether it’s appropriate.
i never stop to be amazed at how tolerant voters are in illinois about corruption, specifically, “a little bit of corruption is necessary to make things work,” i am continually told. you have stroger hospital, the thompson center — why not blagojevich’s all kids? i’m not excusing it, but i think once you’ve crossed that line, it’s a slippery slope. illinois crossed that line A LONG TIME AGO (i remember having similar thoughts in my first statewide campaign here in ‘90) — and, believe me, i understand the “it’s ok for our guys to be corrupt, just not your guys” attitude. but complaining about the guv feels a little unseemly to me, he’s nothing but a creature of the political culture here…
Comment by bored now Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:25 pm
At the risk of being accused of being part of a coordinated effort by Rich and other Capitol Fax bloggers I have to say that while Rod has his faults, in this instance its a case of Rod walking on water and being accused of not being able to swim. The program is 11 days old for Christsake as with anything there will be a ton of great stories of families being helped by this program and there will also be stories of people who have had bad experiences with All Kids. There are ton of programs and initiatives at the local, state and federal level that are less than perfect but it does not take away from the good they do.
Comment by wndycty Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:37 pm
They shouldn’t have separated All Kids in the third paragraph. The letter is not well written.
Comment by Anon. Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:38 pm
Good God… the Blago sycophants are so obviously and desparately gratuitous toward this program here it’s really quite disturbing. Kids implementing AllKids… A perfect reflection of the inexperience and ineptitude of this administration. Hello, the real world is intruding into the Blago bubble.
Much, much more bad news coming for the Blago believers that I hear from numerous sources. Hang in there Blago-ites. You can soon move back to Mom’s basement.
Comment by El Conquistador Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:39 pm
If you’re not indicted.
Comment by El Conquistador Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:40 pm
Come on, lets call a turd a turd. Why are all of these operatives arguing the point? At this point, in spite of all the media buys, the program is serving no more children than what it already should have been serving. We’ve had no groundswell of support for it, that’s indisputable. No doubt the program could really do some good, if it were needed. But this program will not, like so many of this administration’s other irrelevant media attention getting projects. What this administration has failed to learn is that Illinoisans expect they’re Governor to do the heavy lifting in Springfield. And we simply haven’t seen that heavy lifting. What we have seen is hoopla. Blagojevich has done heavy lifting or none at all, but purely for his poll numbers and contributors.
And, full disclosure, for those of you arguing that All Kids is sucessful, my name indicates that I’m a Republican.
Comment by GOPJay Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:41 pm
I think comments are being hit with a coordinated counter-spin.
God, you’re an arrogant bunch.
Comment by B Hicks Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:45 pm
Sorry for the poor grammar and sentence structure. I was a little hasty in sending that last reply. 90% were not already covered, they are new enrollments. And I would argue that providing affordable healthcare to uninsured kids is not just a matter of social justice, but the practical thing to do because it helps hard working families and those of us who are privately insured.
Comment by Katie Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:48 pm
The governor signs a law, very quickly, to ban elected officials from appearing in public service ads because they can be construed as campaign material, then spends four years plastering his name on everything like a Bronx train tagger with a gift card from Sherwin Williams. Can we pass a law this fall to ban ANY governor’s name from the front of these pamphlets, signs, buildings, etc.? It would save the cost of the repainting and re-issuing of materials, and put the focus back on the people of the state, where it belongs.
Whoever wins this fall, let us end this name game. Make it a campaign promise, Judy.
Comment by Governor Anoymous Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:54 pm
What about these poor people who turn 18? Is Blagojevich turning his back on them? These poor kids from poor families. (Insert crappy family gimmick here). What we really need is the government to do everything for us and then say it is for the benefit of the family. YAY!!! Macht es für die Familie. What a perfect mix of national socialism and communism. It’s always nice to see 2 groups usually opposed get together sometimes….
Comment by Lovie's Leather Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:54 pm
anon 7:11 hit something on the head. the state can not, in a timely manner at all, pay it’s current bills within the existing health care system. now the governor and every member of the general assembly who voted for this bill are saying “trust us” to pay the bills of an all new program.
Comment by colt 45 Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 8:59 pm
here’s something to consider:
45,000 = the result of signing kids up for existing program for 10 months, and signing kids in the expansion population up for 1 month. (remember you couldn’t apply for the expansion pop until may).
so is it that surprising that the 1/10 month ratio is the same as the 5/40 ratio?
chew on that.
Comment by short hairy horseshoe Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:02 pm
Katie,
Okay, let’s put it this way. 90% of thekids are an utter redundancy with existing state programs. THAT’s sound government?!?!? Please!
He could have gotten 90% of his double-counted (no, wait, triple-counted! No, wait, . . . aw heck I’ve lost count) total signed up on the existing programs for a HELLUVA lot less expenditure of the tax monies we all pay. But, of course, not as much PR in an election year, or nice letters to voters on STATE MONEY entitled “Governor Blagojevich’s All Kids,” in the letterhead, huh?
Face it, your boss is a fraud artist, and he’s doing it with OUR MONEY.
P.S. Spare me the “hard working families” bit. This is about intelligent government, not sappy sloganeering.
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:07 pm
Not to mention undermining a 20+ year argument and incentives for the private sector to supply dependent care as a benefit of employment. Yet another poorly researched entitlement heeped on the back of the tax payer.
Why would an employer offer dependent health care when the state pays for it? Why would businesses currently offering dependent health care continue to offer it when the tax payers will pick up the tab?
A politically correct issue addressed incorrectly and politically.
Comment by El Conquistador Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:09 pm
GA, loved the “like a Bronx train tagger with a gift card from Sherwin Williams”.
The reason pro-Blaggers identities are being questioned:
1)Previous IPL check proved Dem guilty of logging from Dem headquarters and pretending to be someone other than who they were.
2)An excessive number of bloggers in favor of a Blaggo bit.
I think it is a concerted effort- I’m just not sure who is behind it.
By the way, I’m a registered Dem, voted for Blago and am VERY sorry I did. It won’t happen again!
Comment by Shallow Pharnyx Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:11 pm
By the way, Rich, don’t be surprised that the embarassing fact was “buried” at the back of an AP piece. The AP feed out of Illinois is pro-Democrat, outdone only by WBBM radio. People are beginning to say that WBBM stands for “We Back Blagojevich and the Machine.”
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:18 pm
If this were truly about providing coverage to kids, Illinois could have achieved the same result at far less expense by raising the eligibility limits of the current program and doing some better outreach.
But then you wouldn’t have “Governor Blagojevich’s All-Kids Program,” — you would have “Governor Blagojevich’s expanded Medicaid program” — which I’m sure didn’t poll as well.
Comment by Chicagograssroots Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:45 pm
B Hicks.
YOU accuse JBT of saying stupid things? Buy a tape recorder and listen to yourself.
Comment by Buck Flagojevich Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:47 pm
I’m not sure whether to be flattered or embarassed, so I”ll stick with amused. I”m not part of the Blagojevich campaign as a post previously wonders. And I wasn’t told what to write.
I have my own opinions—I just know a family that was really, truly, honestly 100% helped by All Kids. Go figure. The dad was laid off from his factory job and the mom works full time but doesn’t have insurance. Their teen daughter needs health insurance and All Kids was able to help. They’re a hard working middle class family who can pay something like $40 a month to insure their daughter.
And to one other earlier ‘poster’…the All Kids people ARE reaching out to schools, medical professionals, YMCAs, nonprofit orgs and even park districts. Get with the program and know what you’re talking about before you speak.
So in sum…A real family, helped by a real program, and a real guy is proud of that program. Make of it what you want. I’m sure you cynical types will have plenty to say.
Comment by scott Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 9:56 pm
By July 2007 I plan to double my salary. That means I have will have saved money and will have doubled my buying power. Since I will be saving, I can get a bigger loan today for a larger house than I currently can afford and my children will have a nice place to live. I will deal with any payment issues later with my credit card. The realtor will accept a lower payment percentage and the bank will understand if several payments need to be rescheduled. Yeah, that will work cause it is all about the children.
Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 10:16 pm
B. Hicks,
Pot, meet kettle. You’re black.
Comment by Anonie! Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 10:55 pm
A pig in silk stockings is still a pig. The original Kidcare is a wasteful feel good program that spent tens of thousands to buy a clientel at the expense of the existing health insurance system (meaning we all pay more for insurance because of these programs) and the Guv’s Allkids is more of the same. The technical arguments of why this is will be too complex for this venue and the socialists don’t want to try to understand it anyway. Personally, I get tired of hearing about all the “good middle class families” that just cannot afford coverage. B.S. It is a matter of priorities. I just cannot afford the exorbitant tax burden in this state because of giveaway/buyavote politics.
Comment by Middle Majority Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 10:59 pm
“scott” at 9:56 p.m. Funny you say that All Kids is reaching out to medical professionals. I, as a pediatric physical therapist, and my wife, a family practice physician, have not been force-fed the hype or been “reached out” to. Besides, even if they tried, we would have spent most of the time asking where the $200,000 is that the state owes us for providing care for medicaid patients since last October. There’s a lot more to it than just “providing kids and families with affordable insurance”. There’s also the provider of health care, who has been getting paid 50 cents for each dollar it costs to treat public aid/medicaid patients, and that 50 cents is coming later and later every year for the last 4 years. If the state had proved to us that they could pay the bills for coverage before, a lot more medical providers might actually think All Kids is a good thing. Sadly, they don’t. To quote a pediatrician from Hannibal, MO who asked my wife at a child advocacy conference in St. Paul, MN recently, “what the hell is Illinois thinking with this All Kids thing?”. She no longer accepts Illinois medicaid patients. Too bad we don’t have that luxury.
Comment by schroedk Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:04 pm
My mother has often said that this program would have done it’s job. For those who truly believed in the purpose of the program. Even if it turns out to be smoke and mirrors.
Comment by Levois Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:10 pm
Rich,
I think what you are seeing here is a lot of people from all over the state who like this All Kids idea and want to see it be a success. I am one of them. Sure, there might be a few Blago campaign staffers commenting tonight, but don’t take that away from the rest of us.
Look, we all know the rest of your regulars aren’t independent voices anyway. Whether they be bored and disgruntled legislative staffers or state workers, or actively or formerly working for campaigns, this blog is full of the anti-blago crowd.
I am in the pro-All Kids crowd. I have helped to volunteer to get the word out to families on how they can sign up. I have helped get information out to doctors and medical providers.
There are literally thousands of us in the children’s healthcare and child advocacy universe in Illinois who have worked hard to try and make All Kids a reality for families across the state.
We are not on this board defending the Governor. We are here defending all the work we have done that we know has been for a good cause.
And when you make fase claims that we have done nothing to reach these families, you aren’t just targeting the governor, you are taking a cheap shot at us.
Listen to all us non-regulars here today. We are not a massive counter-spin operation. We are the front lines. We came here to try to set the record straight, out of respect for Rich and his audience.
Maybe you all will listen, or you will just dismiss me as some kind of paid operative so you can let your little fantasy live. I don’t care.
But know that what these people are saying is right. Anyone who works with HFS will tell you that the applications have been pouring in since they became available two months ago. They are working on processing over 5 times the number of applications they have ever had before.
This is real. The need is real. The demand is real.
We can’t blame you though Rich… all you saw was a single line in an AP story without understanding the context behind it.
Comment by ____Park, IL Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:13 pm
It is laughable that “rod” and “buck flagojevich” hide behind their monikers while accusing one-namer bloggers of being blago staffers just because they support a program that helps uninsured kids get healthcare that happens to have been create by this gov.
I’m sure rich didn’t create this blog for blago-haters only, so let people exercise their right to express an opinions, even if it doesn’t mesh with yours. Speaking of opinions, I think it’s time to remove the partisan charged rhetoric and “gotcha” punditry here and look at the facts:
1. Whether you like this admin or not, they seem to have put together a pretty organized marketing plan to enroll kids and have had success in doing so. Half the battle is reaching out to those who need this help. Anyone in community-based organizing will tell you that the most needy often get left behind because government doesn’t know how to reach them. I don’t think anyone could say that the state has failed in that respect. And, who cares how many all-kids eligible vs kidcare eligible children were enrolled? Uninsured kids are uninsured kids. I think that’s tjhe whole everlovin’ point of “All Kids” in the first place.
2. They have the funding in place to cover these kids. Kids are the least expensive to cover and those costs do not have a significant impact on the state’s medicaid budget (compared with prescription drugs, which makes up about 65% of this budget). Get over your cynicism here. We’re talking about helping uninsured children, and we shouldn’t hold them hostage to partisan driven debates.
3. All credible studies show that kids who are healthy are better prepared to learn and be more productive. If a kid can’t read a blackboard or misses days because they have illnesses that go untreated, putting even a billion more dollars into higher ed to serve the next generation of kids won’t matter. Putting more money into higher ed isn’t a bad thing in and of itself (although pur public universities have a notorious history of spending too much on admin). But, unhealthy 6 and 7 years olds won’t have as much of a chance to get into college.
Let’s move on folks, shall we?
Comment by a friend Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:22 pm
A question for all those who keep saying its great that Blago signed-up 40,000 who qualified for existing services but weren’t participating:
Why do we need to invest millions of tax dollars to creat AllKids and run it when Blago could have just signed-up the 40,000 for those exisiting state programs that we are ALREADY spending millions of tax dollars on? You think running duplicate programs is a responsible use of tax dollars when we are BILLIONS in debt? We could have just expanded the exsiting programs a bit to cover the other 5000.
Blago’s next idea: AllRoads. New state highways built right next to the existing ones, for drivers who didn’t know the old ones were there or didn’t want to use them.
Then: AllMansions. A new governor’s mansion, built right next to the existing mansion, for Illinois governors who could live in the old one but have chosen not to.
And Finally: AllClout. A new illegal hiring list for state jobs, kept right next to the existing illegal hiring list, for Blago department heads who were either unaware of the old list or though the Feds had already confiscated it.
Comment by Anonie! Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:27 pm
_____ Park, does that mean you are going to come up with the $200,000 the state hasn’t paid the poor therapist and his wife for the child medical care they rendered at the request of the state, or the millions more unpaid?
Comment by "Rod" Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:29 pm
Anonie! said:
“Why do we need to invest millions of tax dollars to creat AllKids and run it when Blago could have just signed-up the 40,000 for those exisiting state programs that we are ALREADY spending millions of tax dollars on? You think running duplicate programs is a responsible use of tax dollars when we are BILLIONS in debt? We could have just expanded the exsiting programs a bit to cover the other 5000.”
Great idea! Except… that is exactly what happened.
Oh no! Do you find yourself agreeing with the Governor on this one!?
Heaven forbid!
Comment by JohnR Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:39 pm
Jim Collins is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever read. He said of the business world “Good is the enemy of Great.” In other words, good companies fail to become great companies because it’s much easier to keep plodding along like a dinosaur than it is to evolve. Until a meteor hits, of course.
I believe that, in the public sector, “Mediocre is the enemy of Great.” It is easy to be a mediocre president; if we aren’t all wiped out in a terrorist attack, you’ve done your job. It’s easy to be a mediocre governor; if we aren’t all wiped out by a hurricane, you’ve done your job. It’s easy to be a mediocre mayor; if we aren’t all wiped out by a catastrophic fire, you’ve done your job.
Unfortunately, wave after wave of mediocre government eventually erodes public faith in our democracy. Government becomes something to be mocked, or worse, feared. That is why people lost faith in the welfare system. That is why people are losing faith in public education. That is why people are afraid of a universal, public health care system.
Rod Blagojevich’s mismanagement of the public trust is doing more damage to democratic ideals than Judy Baar Topinka could ever do. It is not enough to have good, big ideas. They must be well-implemented. And Blagojevich’s decision to inflate the numbers of a good program that was well-intended nd much needed only further underminesd future efforts to aid those in need.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jul 11, 06 @ 11:51 pm
A Friend,
A nice job! A very slick soft shoe. But a few points.
1. No one’s stopping you from speaking, so don’t imply that.
2. You praise the “pretty organized marketing plan.” You mock us and say “We’re talking about helping uninsured children, and we shouldn’t hold them hostage to partisan driven debates.”
Good. I’m glad you support the plan in full, and your conscience is now clear, as you are helping children, and we are the obvious heartless ogres. Fine.
3. Indeed, let’s “move on,” to finance. I notice you did not mention much more than “They have the funding in place to cover these kids.” Are you so sure? This is a Governor that calls his budget “balanced” through shell games, while millions remain unpaid to medical professionals taking care of your “kids.” But, regardless, I’m very glad your conscience is clear.
How about the millions he has now, quite obviously squandered in self-promoting through this plan? How about the fact he has spent millions “reaching out” through his “pretty organized marketing plan” (marketing for whom is the question, of course), just to find that 90% of these kids are already subject to coverage if the state had simply mounted a far less expensive campaign, without partisan politics (let’s face it, behind the face paint of compassion, that is a major part of what All Kids is all about), to find them? How many kids’ medical care, how many schools - whatever heartstring you choose to tug on - could we have paid for with that money? But, regardless, I’m very glad your conscience is clear.
If you are going to buy what this Governor is selling, then you are his lawful prey. We decline.
Comment by "Rod" Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 12:01 am
Obviously as a medical professional, I’m biased somewhat in this debate. I try to explain the true financial situation to people on the “outside” of health care, but it’s difficult for them to understand. Here’s my attempt at an analogy to help lift the veil of medicaid payments.
Pretend you own a grocery store. You see it as your role in life to provide food for everyone else. The state comes to you and says, you know, there are unfortunately some people that can’t afford your food, so we’re going to pay the bill for them. And since we know better than you or them what they should buy, here’s a list of what we’ll pay for. If you give them something that’s not on the list, even if they really need it, we won’t pay for it. Oh, and we’ll probably change the list about every month or two, so try to keep yourself informed. Anyway, it’s a great plan, and you’re helping a lot of people, so just send us the bill.
So you start your business, and about 30%-70% (depending on what part of the state you live in) of your customers are on the state plan because the state says that they qualify. So you give them their food, and after awhile you send a bill to the state. And you wait a month, and nothing. You wait another month; nothing. And another month, nothing, so you call the state and they tell you oh, you’ll get your money soon, just hang tight. So you wait another month, but now the people that supply the food to you really want to get paid, as do your employees. FINALLY, you get a check in the mail, but, uh-oh, it’s only for about half of what you spent to buy and provide the food for in the first place. Silly you, you only charged what it actually cost you to do business. I guess to make up for the shortfall, you’d better charge your other customers MORE for their food.
So you struggle and make do with this system for a couple of years. Then one day, the state comes back and tells you it found even MORE people that can’t pay for their food, so go ahead and give them their food and send us the bill. Now, how many grocery store owners would be jumping for joy at a plan like this and think that it will work???? Not many.
Now, obviously, the analogy is not airtight, but you get a general idea of why health care providers, and those who understand the system somewhat, are not too keen on this All Kids plan.
Comment by schroedk Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 12:31 am
Rich,
We are all partisan to something, but how about publishing some IP addresses or making them visible so the army of computer warriors can analyze.
There used to be a Republican dork who went to the Kinkos next to his house so he could post “anonymously”. He was busted by people looking at IP’s. How about making them visible until November 8th.
Comment by Schiznitz Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 12:41 am
Rod Blagojevich and All Kids was briefly mentioned on the Colbert Report tonight on Comedy Central…. funny stuff!
Comment by Jeff Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 1:21 am
“She no longer accepts Illinois medicaid patients. Too bad we don’t have that luxury.”
Are you saying IL medical providers are mandated to accept all medicaid and All Kids patients?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 5:39 am
How did All Kids calculate premiums? Did the state hire actuarials to run statistical analysis? Did the state hire insurance managers to set up the entire program?
The way insurance works is you pay me now, along with many other people, with the committment that I’ll invest the money wisely so it will be there for you when you really need it.
Insurance companies collapse because they take in the money and feel rich, so they raise salaries and benefits of staff, buy new buildings, and make risky investments. Later the customers show up with bills but their collective money has been spent or lost and the company goes bankrupt leaving customers in the cold.
The key is finding a reputable and responsible company you can trust with your money, so you check auditor financial ratings. Government doesn’t go bankrupt, because it can raise taxes to pay for mistakes.
If private businesses can’t trust IL government to pay its bills, then the state has to hire (with benefits) all the professionals needed to duplicate program infrastructure already established in the marketplace.
All Kids and other Medicaid programs would be far more efficient if IL government contracted with reputable private insurers to set up and operate the programs, including marketing to fully cover kids in need. Were reputable insurers even asked to bid for the program? If so, did insurers trust IL government to pay the bills?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 6:06 am
“She no longer accepts Illinois medicaid patients. Too bad we don’t have that luxury.â€
Sometimes it is a financial necessity to stop seeing patients who don’t pay their bills. In the case of medicaid paitents - it is the state that is not paying the bill. In anycase, it always reverts back to the patient if insurance doesn’t pay the bill. The second thing is that medicaid only pays a small portion of a doctor’s fee.
Comment by Doc's Kid Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 6:40 am
It is interesting but not suprising that Rich constatnly eggs on the anti-Blago forces with loaded questions so that they can spew their venom but when individuals defend All Kids or any other of the governor’s accomplishments, they are accused of being co-ordinated campaign staffers. Is it really beyond comprehension that the real public supports health insurance for children in Illinois?
Go ahead censor me again. The truth will win on election day.
Comment by Bill from exile Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 7:03 am
Some points to consider:
First, children are much less costly to cover than the elderly or disabled, so from a financial perspective, All Kids was low-hanging fruit. Most people don’t know that George Ryan’s administration expanded Medicaid coverage to the aged and disabled for three consecutive years and spent significantly more doing so than will Governor Blagojevich’s All Kids. The major diference - less fanfare, more results. This doesn’t make me a George Ryan fan - in fact, far from it. I’m glad he is being punished. My point is that it’s possible to govern without politically exploiting the people you’re helping.
Second, don’t misrepresent the numbers. Unfortunately, HFS staff were asked to be numeric contortionists to get to 45,000. The All Kids expansion piece is 5,000. Say 5,000. HFS signs up new children for their existing programs every month and others fall off the rolls. You shouldn’t count months of new Medicaid enrollees as All Kids enrollees because many were destined for the Medicaid/KidCare rolls anyway.
And third, access to care is going to be a major problem until Medicaid becomes a better payer. And not just for AK enrollees, but for current Medicaid/Kidcare children also.
Comment by Check the numbers Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 7:22 am
To Anonymous at 5:39 a.m. Many clinics can (and do) cap the number of medicaid patients that they’ll accept. They do this once they figure out the percentage above which their business would become unprofitable. It’s figured in much the same way as “charity care”, or how many people can I afford to give free care to before I go bankrupt. Unfortunately, some clinics/physicians have more latitude in figuring out the percentage of medicaid patients they’ll accept, because their area includes a lot of private insurance or at least well-off patients. Where we are located (west-central Illinois about an hour from Quincy, Springfield, and Peoria), the percentage of medicaid recipients is actually around 60%-70%. Therefore, if we were to cap our medicaid load at 25-30% of total patients (like most clinics try to), it would not benefit us because we’d be treating far fewer patients total, not just a different mix of patients. Plus, if word got out around our small community that patients were being turned away specifically because they were medicaid recipients, PR would be down the toilet. So to answer your question, no, we are not REQUIRED to accept any and all medicaid patients, but there are many areas of this state where it’s impossible to limit the number you see in order to remain financially stable because they make up a majority of the population you serve.
Comment by schroedk Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 7:23 am
Bill, I thought you told me you were leaving and never coming back?
Perhaps, Bill, you will recall that you were put in time out because you crossed a line that I specifically asked my readers not to cross. You got tired of waiting for your parole and stomped off in a huff. Maybe you should change your name to “Bill from self-exile.”
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 7:31 am
After reading all these comments, I still have a question:
Why is this program named the “Governor Rod Blagojevich All Kid’s Program”? If Topinka and White are forbidden by law from slapping their names on programs run out of their offices, then doesn’t that law also apply to the governor’s office?
Just wondering.
Louis G. Atsaves
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 10:00 am
[…] UPDATE:Â Foleyma got a mention by Capitol Fax Blog, and they’ve reposted his “Governor Blagojevich’s AllKids” acceptance letter and pointed out the free month. […]
Pingback by IlliniPundit.com » Blog Archive » Foleyma and AllKids Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 10:46 am
Anonie!
You’re arrogant and thin skinned.
Relax man, fire one up.
Comment by B Hicks Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 10:50 am
Well, not that this is your business, but we had already sent a check foor July, and that is to what the letter writer was referring.
I guess this shows that folks who post information without knowing the whole story are … uh … irresponsible?
Comment by foleyma Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 11:53 am
A Friend: Organized, well-marketed advertising plan??? Huh?? A person who works for one of the print shops producing the application, flyers, promos, etc. for AllKids told me they got five different calls from five different people at the outreach office responsible for promoting this program, all of them asking for five different quantities of the same form. Talk about well-organized! As long as they get the publicity for the boss, organization doesn’t matter.
Comment by Disgusted Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 2:05 pm
My buddy has had his kids enrolled in the state subsidized health care plan for years even though he makes a ton of money. It’s nice to know that he can now swindle the taxpayers on the up and up.
Maybe Rod can return some of the premiums I have been paying for years. I bet that program would get a lot of takers.
Comment by Garp Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 5:09 pm
All Kids is just a gimmick. What we really need is single-payor universal healthcare in Illinois, like Rich Whitney is proposing. It would be like “medicare for everyone.”
Comment by Squideshi Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 6:28 pm
So is Whitney going to have the state directly hire all the actuarials, administrators, marketers, operators, claims reps, adjustors, medical people to review claims, auditors, investment specialists, etc. and create a massive new government bureaucracy?
Or would it be wiser to contract with professional insurance companies that really know what they’re doing and let them compete in providing government paid health insurance to the poor?
Or might it be wiser to invest those dollars in education rather than handouts and encourage people to learn how to fish for a lifetime?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jul 12, 06 @ 11:19 pm
Well, there is the argument that the US health care problem could be solved by simply expanding Medicare eligibility to all citizens over a phase-in period by age cohorts. The US is certainly wealthy enough to do this, but it’s probably going to be a while.
While it may be politically expedient to focus on the small number of uninsured children in Illinois as recipients of state government largesse, the real problem is uninsured adults…around a million, I believe. It’s easy to insure a few thousand kids, but much harder to do the political work necessary to provide health insurance to all Illinoisians. The money is certainly there, but Blago doesn’t have the brains or the work ethic necessary to provide
universal health care as in Massachusets.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jul 14, 06 @ 5:13 pm