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Since taking office, Blagojevich has
expanded the state's KidCare and FamilyCare programs, resulting in
304,000 people receiving health care coverage they otherwise
wouldn't have. Before Blagojevich took office, United Power for
Action and Justice led the charge to create the KidCare and
FamilyCare programs and has since been the leading advocate for the
expansion of both programs. The Kaiser Family Foundation has ranked
Illinois as the leading state in the nation when it comes to
providing health care for adults who need it and the second-best
state in the nation when it comes to providing health care for
children who need it. Under
Gov. Blagojevich, Illinois is also the first state to provide its
citizens with access to safe, affordable prescription drugs from
Europe and Canada, the first state to develop a small-business
health insurance program that allows businesses to pool their buying
power and reduce costs, and the first state to issue an emergency
rule requiring pharmacies to fill women's prescriptions for birth
control.
When it comes to protecting people
covered by Medicaid, over the past two years, despite facing a
combined budget deficit of $7.5 billion, Gov. Blagojevich has
refused to follow the example of other states and kick people off
Medicaid. On Sunday, Gov. Blagojevich urged Congress to reconsider
its recent decision to cut federal Medicaid funding by $10 billion,
saying: "The decision by Congress to cut $10 billion in Medicaid
funds is the wrong thing to do: Medicaid is essential for 2 million
people in Illinois alone, including a million children who cannot
afford private health insurance; it's essential for our seniors, for
hardworking families, for women who need breast and cervical cancer
screenings, for immigrants, for people living in rural areas, and
for the disabled. It's essential for hospitals like Mount Sinai, in
Chicago's West Side, where more than 60 percent of patients are on
Medicaid and another 12 percent are uninsured. And it's essential
for our economy too, because money invested in health care means
more local revenue, more jobs and better wages. Health care is not a
privilege, it's a right."
Last Thursday, Congress passed a
$2.6 trillion budget plan that includes cuts of $10 billion for
Medicaid, which provides health insurance for than 50 million
low-income people nationwide, including 2 million in Illinois.
Health care spending is an engine of
growth and development for local economies. A Families U.S.A. report
estimated that for every dollar the state spends on health care in
Illinois, $2.69 is generated in additional economic activity.
Another report, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
underscored that health care spending creates jobs, increases wages
for health care workers, expands tax revenues and increases demand
for related goods and services.
For more than 200 hospitals in the
state, Medicaid reimbursements are a lifeline, as they allow the
hospitals to provide care for low-income and disabled patients, even
though Illinois receives only 50 cents on the dollar in terms of
federal share, which is the lowest level in the nation.
"Last summer, we went the extra mile
in Springfield, fighting for KidCare, FamilyCare and Medicaid, and
the budget for this year includes funding that will allow an
additional 56,000 working parents to get the health care they need,"
the governor said. "But there are nearly 2 million more in Illinois
that still have no medical coverage. As the cost of health care
continues to increase, it's critical that we reach out to the
uninsured and give them a fighting chance. In spite of budget
deficits, Illinois is a leader in expanding health care coverage to
hundreds of thousands, and we will do every single effort possible
to go even further."
Gov. Blagojevich directed the
Illinois Department of Public Aid to significantly enhance its
outreach efforts to the uninsured and increase enrollment in the
state's health initiatives, as he issued a proclamation in
celebration of the national
Cover the Uninsured Week.
"United Power for Action and Justice
has championed the merits of KidCare and FamilyCare, and it's
exciting to know that Governor Blagojevich has provided such strong
support for these programs in such hard fiscal times," said Donna
Thompson, chief executive officer of Access Community Health Network
and a member of United Power for Action and Justice. "We hope that
the governor continues with the strong fight to advance FamilyCare
to more eligible parents. Many of the parents that benefit from
these programs work full time and need to maintain their health so
they can continue to be successful and be there for their children."
"Over the last two years we have
enrolled an additional 304,000 children and working parents in
KidCare and FamilyCare," said Barry Maram, director of the Illinois
Department of Public Aid. "Governor Blagojevich has been able to
realize these enrollment gains, not by raising taxes but by sound
fiscal management in the program, judicious use of federal funds and
aggressive cost-containment measures in the area of prescription
drugs. By getting a handle on these costs, we enable more working
families to get the coverage they need to stay healthy."
Cover the Uninsured Week is a
national, grass-roots effort to draw attention to the crisis of the
uninsured. The initiative was launched by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, which works with national partners and supporters in all
50 states. Organizers estimate that 45 million Americans have no
health insurance, including more than 8 million children, and that
eight out of 10 uninsured Americans either have jobs or are in
working families.
Cover the Uninsured Week events
include health and enrollments fairs, seminars for small-business
owners, campus seminars and interfaith activities in hundreds of
communities across the country. This year's current target markets
include Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
Philadelphia, Houston, New Orleans and other large cities.
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A report recently released by the
Gilead Center, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization,
highlighted the growing crisis of the uninsured in Illinois.
According to the report, although low- income families are still the
hardest hit, some 22 percent of individuals making between $50,000
and $75,000 a year are uninsured and an additional 15.6 percent of
fully employed individuals lack any type of coverage. A Kaiser
Family Foundation report also pointed out that, in 2004, 63 percent
of small businesses in the state did not offer medical insurance to
their staff. Since taking
office in January 2003, Governor Blagojevich has made expanding
health care one of his top priorities. Accomplishments by his
administration in this area include:
- Expanded coverage to 304,000
additional children and working parents through KidCare and
FamilyCare.
- Launched the Illinois Healthy
Women program, which helps low-income women who are leaving
Medicaid avoid unwanted pregnancies and have a successful
transition from welfare to work. Over 80,000 women have received
three-month coverage with this program since initiated in April of
2004, and over 22,000 have enrolled for a full year.
- Expanded funding for breast and
cervical cancer screenings and AIDS prevention. Some 19,000 women,
almost half of them minorities, have received free screenings
through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.
- Created a statewide
small-business health insurance program in partnership with the
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Peoria Area Chamber of
Commerce. The goal of the developing program is to help small
businesses pool their purchasing power and reduce health care
costs by up to 15 percent. Illinois would be the first state to
create a program of this kind. An official request for information
-- a key step in the process -- was sent to health insurance
companies on Tuesday.
- Signed legislation requiring
private insurers to cover female contraceptives and issuing an
emergency rule requiring pharmacies to fill a woman's prescription
for birth control.
- Expanded mental health services
to improve care for over 18,000 children, their families and
caregivers.
- Launched I-SaveRx, making
Illinois the first state in the nation to give people access to
safe and affordable prescription drugs from Europe and Canada,
offering savings of up to 50 percent on medications for chronic
conditions. Since being launched in October of 2004, the states of
Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Vermont have joined the program.
- Launched the Illinois Rx Buying
Club for seniors who do not qualify for prescription drug
assistance programs. This initiative helps members save an average
of 24 percent on all of their medications at more than 2,000
Illinois pharmacies. To date, the club has filled more than
300,000 prescriptions.
- The Circuit Breaker
Pharmaceutical Assistance program, administered by the Illinois
Department on Aging, currently helps 51,000 of Illinois' seniors
and disabled people purchase prescription medicine for one of the
following conditions: arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions, high
blood pressure, glaucoma, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's
disease and smoking-related illnesses. Eligibility is limited to
individuals whose income is less than $21,218. In a two-person
household the income limit is $28,480, and in a three-person or
larger household the income limit is $35,740.
- SeniorCare helps 182,000
low-income seniors in Illinois pay for the prescription drugs they
need. Any Illinois senior can enroll if his or her income is no
more than $19,140 per year or $25,660 if married. There is no
enrollment fee. SeniorCare covers most prescriptions and many
over-the-counter drugs, if a doctor prescribes them.
During Cover the Uninsured Week, May
1-8, the Department of Public Aid will lead other outreach and
enrollment events, including these:
Chicago area
Health
fairs
- May 1-7 -- Visiting Nurse
Association of Fox Valley, 1245 Corporate Blvd., Aurora
- Monday -- Heritage International
Christian Church, 5454 W. North Ave.
- Monday -- Access Community Health
Network, 3303 S. California Ave.
- Monday -- TCA Health Center, NFP,
1029 E. 130th St. Chicago Ave.
- Thursday -- Truman College, 1145
W. Wilson Ave.
- Friday -- Power Circle
Congregation, 9350 S. Chicago Ave.
- Saturday -- Centro de Salud
Esperanza, 2001 S. California Ave.
Small-business seminar
- Wednesday, 8:30 a.m., Ann
Sather's Restaurant, 5207 N. Clark
There will be a presentation that discusses KidCare and FamilyCare
along with other insurance options for small-business owners and
employees.
Interfaith prayer service
- Thursday, 8:30 a.m., St. Joseph's
Hospital, 2900 N. Lake Shore Drive
Downstate events
- Monday-Thursday -- Employee
Health Week, St. John's Hospital, Springfield
- Saturday -- Young Families Health
Fair, Alton Memorial Hospital, Alton
[News release from the governor's
office] |
