(Illinois) Governor unveils health plan

Daily Herald ^ | 03/04/07

[KevinDavis]

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Sunday he’ll push for a complex plan that would make sure all Illinoisans can obtain health insurance within the next three years.

Under his “Illinois Covered” plan, the state’s 1.4 million uninsured adults could enroll in government health services, get help paying for private coverage or buy insurance under a new program the state would require insurers to join.

People making up to four times the federal poverty level could qualify. That’s an annual income of about $40,000 for one person and $80,000 for a family of four. The more people earn, the less state assistance they could get.

“If you can have health care but your neighbor can’t ... that isn’t how God intended it to be,” Blagojevich said Sunday from the steps of a downtown Chicago church. “At the heart of our plan is one simple idea. And that is that everyone, everyone, should have access to affordable, quality health care.”

Aides said the first phase of the program, if approved by lawmakers, would start in January 2008. All parts of Illinois Covered would be up and running in January 2010. It would cost the state more than $2 billion a year when fully implemented, they estimated.

[KevinDavis]

This state is done for...

[Clock King]

No, not yet. The Leftist Elite will get the world of slaves and synchophants that they want. The people are foolish to keep electing these Democrats who continue to tax them to death and give them NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING(!) in return.

[KevinDavis]

I'm sure glad that Judy lost and the State GOP was taught a lesson....

[Brizick]

'Buck Flagojevich' - one of my favorite bumper stickers.

This man has had his hand in our pockets since day one. Semi truck license plates went from $1800 to $3000. I could go on and on.

We can only hope he jumped the shark with this one.

[Outland]

Between this, planned taxes on gross receipts and the upcoming hike in minimum wage, this place is going to be a ghost town for business.

[proxy_user]

No, probably most of the uninsured will turn down this wonderful opportunity.

Do you think they know what they're doing?

[moonman]

Good Thing: Seems like a lot of states are trying to rein in health care costs and make it affordable to more people.

Bad Thing: They are trying to do it at the expense of the people already paying heavily for themselves and everyone else.

Remedy: Because 1 out of every 6 dollars in America goes for health care and it's insurance, we should NATIONALIZE IT! If it's good enough for our servicemen, it's good enough me me.

[KevinDavis]

No we should not nationalize health care.. How do propose on doing it?????

[darkangel82]

Let's not and say we did.

[patton]

Wow. any other socialist ideas you want to put forward?

(Were you kidding?)

How about, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need..."

Or, my favorite,

"Wir werden Kaempfen Bis die Rota Pfanne Die Weltpflagge Wierd!"

(We will fight, until the socialist flag is the flag of the WORLD!)

Is that what you were suggesting?

[moonman]

You guys have your heads in the sand if you think we can fix our current system. I am part of a small group plan (1-5 employees) and pay $880.00 per month for an HMO. This insures ME ONLY! This July will be another anniversary date, meaning, probably upwards of $950.00 to $1,000.00 per month. When you come up with a better affordable plan for my individual health circumstances, let me know, please.

I have spoken to my GP, cardiologist and oncologist and each one said they have accepted the fact that socialized medicine is inevitable ... soon!

[Syllojism]

No we should not nationalize health care.. How do propose on doing it?????

Doing it is the hard part, of course. And programs like this that help people buy private insurance with public money do nothing to solve the root problem, which is that America's health care system is ridiculously expensive both in tax dollars and private dollars at the same time.

Something people don't like talking about because it doesn't seem to make sense is that Canada spends fewer tax dollars per capita on health care than America does, and America spends a higher percentage of its GDP on health care than Canada does. Americans get saddled with paying more for health care in taxes and then have to rely on getting insurance through their employer anyway if they don't want to pay out of pocket for insurance or care. The reason is Canadian hospitals spend half as much on administration and Canadian doctors spend way less time on paperwork, not to mention that overhead and such are about twenty times higher for American HMOs because the Canadian system isn't looking to turn a profit. A one-plan national insurance system really is more efficient than the private sector. And despite anecdotes I've heard about how awful treatment is in Canada, my experiences with Canadian hospitals have been satisfactory, timely, and free (and one of those experiences involved a family member's CT scan and subsequent operation by a neurosurgeon the same day she walked into the emergency room).

It's not national health care we should be scared of, really. If we could wake up tommorow and magically have everything in place, taxes would drop and anyone who has to pay for insurance or who is uninsured would save a lot of money the next time they broke their leg. The trouble is getting there would gut an entire industry and would be bad for the economy.

[Nailbiter]

ping ,, comments

[Jonathan]

We have socialized health care. It has been tested.

The results are in. . . simply ask the customers of the U.S. Army at Walter Reed how responsive and quality focused socialized health care is.

Unbelievable.

The feds can't even run the VA health system right. And some of you want them to run everything???

Please tell me what the government does better than private business.

[x_plus_one]

Hospitals in the US bordering canada are filled with canadians. Don't use Canada for an example. Canadian healthcare is worse than the VA for delays in necessary procedures. The only people touting the merits of Canadian healthcare are ideologues of the left - statists who shamelessly eat at the public trough.

[mathluv]

'that isn’t how God intended it to be'

dims are now speaking of God. edwards is doing it, this guy is - could that mean they are realizing that God-fearing (loving) voters are getting fed up with being put-down!???

[BlessedBeGod]

“If you can have health care but your neighbor can’t ... that isn’t how God intended it to be,” Blagojevich said Sunday from the steps of a downtown Chicago church. “

Hey, Rod, could you show me where that is in the Bible? Chapter? Verse?

[southlake_hoosier]

Please tell me what the government does better than private business.

private healthcare stinks as well, so the government does it as well as the private sector, the problem is neither are any good at what they do.

[southlake_hoosier]

The people are foolish to keep electing these Democrats who continue to tax them to death and give them NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING(!) in return.

Indiana is taxed more then Illinois for everything except sales and grocery. Income tax in Indiana is 3.4, plus you have county income taxes. Property taxes are about the same, gas taxes are about the same. At least Illinois may get healthcare, we get nothing. We have a Republican governor.

[EVO X]

Good Thing: Seems like a lot of states are trying to rein in health care costs and make it affordable to more people.

What would likely happen is rates would go up and choices would go down for the people that actually pay. Sounds to me like Blago wants to import New York health care socialism into Illinois.