Illinois task force pushes plan for universal coverage

The group favors mandatory insurance purchasing, employer contributions, state subsidies and discounted rates for low-income people. But lawmakers must consider the proposal.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. Feb. 5, 2007.

Washington -- An Illinois task force concluded more than 20 months of work Jan. 18 by recommending a Massachusetts-like universal health coverage plan.

The package would require every Illinois resident and even nonresidents -- including college students and undocumented immigrants -- to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, as yet undefined.

The Adequate Health Care Task Force recommendations also call for insurance companies to offer a standard, state-defined, state-subsidized insurance plan available at discounted rates for lower-income individuals. Employers would be required either to provide health insurance or pay a per-worker assessment, also as yet undefined. The plan would result in an estimated $1.5 billion in new spending for employers.

It recommends that Illinois Medicaid reimburse physicians at commercial rates, above Medicare and far above the current program rates, said Craig A. Backs, MD, a task force member and immediate past president of the Illinois State Medical Society.

The proposal was approved unanimously by 20 panel members at the group's Jan. 18 final meeting. Nine of the 29 members did not attend.

Although no one voted against the plan last month, five insurance industry representatives and a single-payer advocate on the task force voted against it at the task force's November 2006 meeting. The insurance industry dissenters wrote a minority report detailing concerns that the plan would limit consumer choice and lower health care quality in Illinois.