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"We have thousands of working families
and children who don't have decent health care. Oftentimes, their
only option is to go to the emergency room when they need help.
That's not acceptable," Blagojevich said. "By signing the FamilyCare
and KidCare bills into law, we are providing health care coverage in
current year for 20,000 more children and 65,000 more working
parents. Over the next three years, a total of 300,000 parents will
receive health care."
The governor appeared at a Children's
Memorial Hospital in Chicago along with Director of Public Aid Bury
S. Maram to highlight the new legislation sponsored by state Rep.
Sandra Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn, and state Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago.
This legislation will enable 65,000 working parents and 20,000
children to receive health insurance under the FamilyCare and
KidCare programs.
The legislation immediately raises the
eligibility level for the department's KidCare program from 185
percent of the federal poverty level to 200 percent of that level.
Currently, a family of three earning more than $28,236 cannot
qualify for the KidCare program. This bill will extend the
eligibility to families earning up to $30,516. As a result, the
state will be able to cover 20,000 more children.
The bill also expands the FamilyCare
program -- targeted at pregnant mothers and parents of KidCare-eligible
children -- by raising the eligibility level from 49 percent of the
federal poverty level. Right now, to qualify for FamilyCare, a
family of four can earn no more than $750 per month. With this
expansion, the income eligibility level will be increased to $1,380
per month. Over three years, 300,000 more working parents will
receive health care coverage.
In the new fiscal year, the expansion
of KidCare will cost $3.8 million and FamilyCare will cost $22
million in state funds. The state will receive 65 cents for every
dollar invested in this program from the federal government. The
FamilyCare expansion will cost $63 million a year and will also
receive a federal match of 65 percent.
The bill signing signals a more
aggressive attitude by the state in going after federal health care
funding. It also delivers on campaign promises made by the governor
and a pledge in his State of the State address to expand eligibility
for KidCare to 200 percent of the federal poverty level and provide
coverage for 300,000 parents with the FamilyCare program.
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"Because of the leadership of Governor
Blagojevich, Illinois was one of only two states in the nation that
not only avoided cuts in Medicaid but actually expanded coverage,"
said Maram. "The expansion of Medicare and FamilyCare demonstrates
in very concrete terms that the governor's commitment to health care
and reducing the rolls of the uninsured goes far beyond rhetoric. It
is reality."
KidCare and FamilyCare pay for doctor
visits, hospital care, emergency services, specialty medical
services., prescription drugs, immunizations, substance abuse
services, dental and eye care, and other services.
FamilyCare is open to adults who meet
the income requirement and are either parents or caretakers of
children enrolled in KidCare, which is known formally by the federal
government as the State Children's Health Insurance Program and
abbreviated as SCHIP.
For families that have some health
insurance, the Department of Public Aid offers the KidCare Rebate,
Share and Premium programs. KidCare Rebate helps covers health
insurance premiums; KidCare Share and Premium cover services that a
health insurance plan may not cover.
The Department of Public Aid provides
comprehensive health insurance coverage to over 1.7 million
Illinoisans, including one million children.
Under prior administrations, the state
lost out on the chance to claim $253 in federal SCHIP money because
it failed to aggressively expand the KidCare program.
"The beauty
of this program is that for every 35 cents the state invests in
KidCare and FamilyCare, the federal government has to match the
remaining 65 cents on the dollar," Blagojevich said. "We're
expanding a great program, and the leadership and commitment of
Senator Obama and Representative Pihos helped to make it possible."
[News
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