This year in Springfield, the main players in the health insurance industry provided a case study in how they resist even the simplest changes. They once again illustrated how they do not understand, or at least do not take seriously, that the health care system is in crisis and approaching a crossroads.
About a third of the uninsured in Illinois – 600,000 people – are between the ages of 18 and 30. Working together, two Chicago-based organizations, Public Action for Change Today (PACT) and United Power for Action and Justice, came up with a basic solution to assist many of these uninsured young adults -- one sponsored by Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) in the Senate, and Reps. Beth Coulson (R-Glenview) and Julie Hamos (D-Evanston) in the House. The proposal required employer-based group insurance plans to allow employees to keep their children as dependents under their insurance until the age of 30 (or until they acquire different insurance or get married). The employer would not be required to pay any portion of this dependent coverage and could pass the full tab onto the employee.
The idea behind this plan is to simply provide a new option -- at least for the families that could afford it -- to cover their young adult children with decent insurance. To the extent they are financially able, many families would be continuing to assist their kids in any event as they return from college, make their way through graduate school, or take entry level jobs without benefits. Since the parents would likely be responsible for the costs of any serious health expenses, making sure their kids have proper insurance is obviously in their interest. However, the age limit on dependents often bars them from adding their young adult children to their coverage.
The proposal by PACT and United Power represents a minor tweak to the current health care system. It would cost the government nothing. It would cost employers nothing. Insurance companies would have thousands of healthy young people as new paying customers, who in turn would improve the overall health profile of the employers’ insurance groups. By helping mostly middle class Illinois families help themselves, it would put a significant dent in the uninsured population.
Seventeen other states have passed similar reforms. Indeed, the sponsors found broad support for the proposal in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. So it should be easy to pass, right?
