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While the Governor's "All Kids" plan, which took effect last year,
extended coverage to all children in the state, approximately 1.4
million adults in Illinois are currently uninsured. A majority,
roughly 75 percent, are from families with moderate incomes or
higher. The Governor's Illinois Covered plan will provide affordable
coverage to the uninsured and will also help many middle-income
families and small businesses that are currently enrolled in health
insurance plans save thousands a year on healthcare costs. The plan
will also reform the existing healthcare system to improve quality
and require more accountability. "When hardworking people are
avoiding the doctor because they don't have insurance, something is
wrong. When small business owners are unable to insure themselves,
let alone their employees, and they worry about the fate of their
business if they should suffer a medical emergency, something is
wrong. I introduced Illinois Covered to make sure every person in
our state can get affordable health coverage," said Governor
Blagojevich. "For the next two weeks, Dick Kay will be traveling
around the state to meet families who are uninsured or struggling
with the rising costs of health insurance, and to help raise
awareness at the local level of the high moral and economic cost of
the serious disparities in our current healthcare system."
Kay, who came out of retirement from a 46-year career as a
newscaster to help Gov. Blagojevich earn support for his Cover
Illinois plan, will make the first stop of the tour on Tuesday in
Carbondale, followed by stops in Collinsville on Wednesday and
Decatur on Thursday. Kay will continue the Drive for Healthcare tour
in coming weeks making additional stops throughout the state.
Already, Kay has met several individuals and families that are
struggling to get health coverage, including Cynthia Guerra and
Sheldon Diaz, Mary Mannino, and Darlene Wilcher.
Darlene Wilcher, age 58, of Oak Park lost her job as a
radiological technologist and her health insurance in 2004. She
currently does freelance work to try and make ends meet but cannot
afford the high cost of health insurance. The lack of insurance
terrifies her because she has a medical condition that could lead to
seizures at any time.
"I worked all my life in healthcare and now I feel like I have to
go out to beg for health insurance. There are so many other people
out there in my situation and I hope legislators can do something
about it soon. It is becoming a crisis," she said.
Cynthia Guerra and her husband, Sheldon Diaz, have also struggled
with the high costs of accessible healthcare. They are a
self-employed couple from Chicago's Little Village neighborhood who
work in real estate and run a neighborhood grocery store. As
healthcare costs have risen, it has become harder and harder for
their family to afford their private insurance at $250 a month with
a $5,000 deductible.
Mary Mannino of Joliet is a recent graduate of cosmetology school
and is uninsured. High healthcare costs have also forced Mary to
forgo routine medical care and run the risk of developing a serious
illness.
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While the Blagojevich Administration has expanded access to
healthcare to more than 560,000 working families with Illinois'
FamilyCare and All Kids programs, access to quality healthcare
continues to be a concern for more than 1.4 million adults statewide
who remain uninsured today. And this number continues to grow: As
the cost of healthcare for business has been growing five times
faster than the rate of inflation, the number of firms offering
health benefits to their employees has fallen by at least 8% since
2000. To help protect Illinoisans like Darlene Wilcher, Governor
Blagojevich proposed Illinois Covered
-- a plan that will ensure all 1.4 million uninsured have access to
quality, affordable healthcare, and that will help many
middle-income families and small businesses that are currently
enrolled in health insurance plans save thousands a year on
healthcare costs. The plan will also reform the existing healthcare
system to improve quality and require more accountability. The
primary components of Governor Blagojevich's Illinois Covered plan
include:
Choice: Creates a new, affordable comprehensive
insurance plan that anyone without employer-sponsored health
insurance in Illinois can purchase. This statewide pool of
coverage will offer Illinoisans lower and stable rates. Business
groups will be able to connect many of their members with this
new affordable insurance, and small business owners can also
purchase this product on behalf of their employees.
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Illinois Covered
Rebate: Lowers premiums for moderate- to
middle-income Illinoisans ($20,000-$80,000 for a family of four)
to help them afford their health insurance. The rebate will vary
based on income, and those with lower incomes would get a larger
rebate.
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Illinois Covered
Assist: Similar to FamilyCare and Medicaid,
individuals or couples who are very low-income will now have
access to full coverage through the state (individuals currently
making less than $10,210 annually, and couples making less than
$13,690).
The Governor also proposes expanding the existing FamilyCare
program to 400% of the federal poverty level for those who do not
have access to employer-sponsored coverage, to expand health
benefits for workers with disabilities, and to allow dependants to
retain coverage until age 29. Additionally, the state will work with
both consumers and healthcare providers to develop a Roadmap to
Health that will improve the state's overall healthcare system and
promote wellness, while better managing chronic conditions, the most
important component for driving down overall healthcare costs.
[Text copied from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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