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Campaign for Better Health Care
PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
4:27pm
Wed May 15

Immigrant Communities Face Major Barriers In Navigating Affordable Care Act Eligibility, Report Finds

Health Care

Nearly 260,000 uninsured immigrants in Illinois will be eligible for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when open enrollment begins in October. But a plethora of barriers, including language, literacy and culture, may stand in the way, according to a recent report by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
5:31pm
Thu May 9
1 comment

IL Senate Committee Passes Legislation For State-based Health Insurance Exchange

The Illinois Senate Insurance Committee passed a measure Wednesday that looks to establish a state-run health insurance marketplace for small businesses and individuals as part of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Some health care and consumer advocates are pushing for a state-based insurance exchange, but questions still remain on how to make the marketplace the best it can be.

"We're walking into a new territory. We haven’t been here yet," said Brigid Leahy, director of legislative affairs at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. "But at least we know that if we're running things at the state level, we can fix things, we can make them better, we have better control over making sure that it works for consumers. If it’s in the hands of the feds, we don’t have that power." 

Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
11:47am
Tue Apr 9

Nearly One Million Illinoisans Eligible For Health Coverage Tax Credits Under The Affordable Care Act

About 957,000 Illinoisans will be eligible for premium tax credits in 2014 that will help them pay for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, a report released Thursday from Families USA shows.

More than half of the nearly one million people who will qualify have annual incomes between 200 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level (or $47,100 to $94,200 for a family of four), allowing the premium tax credits to reach deep into the middle class, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

“The tax credit subsidies are a game changer,” Pollack said on a conference call with reporters. “They will make health coverage affordable for huge numbers of uninsured families who would have been priced out of the health coverage and care they need.”

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PI Original
by Matthew Blake
10:59am
Thu Aug 2, 2012

With Blagojevich Behind Bars, 'All Kids' Continues To Be A Beacon In IL Children's Health Care

Health Care

Conceived by then-Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2005, the All Kids program has helped ensure that 96 percent of Illinois children get health care insurance.

Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
1:49pm
Mon Jul 9, 2012
1 comment

Local Health Advocates Press Quinn For Illinois Health Exchange

Emboldened by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month that upheld key elements within President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act of 2010, health reform advocates recently called on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to move quickly toward establishing a state-run health insurance exchange prior to the federal government’s January 1 deadline.

More than a hundred health, education and labor groups signed a letter sent to Gov. Quinn last week asking him to issue an executive order to implement an exchange in light of the Illinois General Assembly’s inability to develop a plan prior to the conclusion of its spring session in May.

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PI Original
by Matthew Blake
6:04pm
Thu Jun 28, 2012
9 comments

After ACA Ruling, Celebration And Uncertainty In Illinois

Health Care

Illinois health care advocates, organized labor, and Democratic politicians cheered the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling announced this morning that all major provisions of the landmark Affordable Care Act of 2010 are constitutional. But there are questions about how Illinois will set up its health care insurance exchange.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
3:31pm
Tue Jun 19, 2012
3 comments

Poll: Small Business Owners Actually Like ACA

The country’s largest small business lobbying group – the National Federation of Independent Businesses – is one of the plaintiff’s looking to overturn the Affordable Care Act before the U.S. Supreme Court, a decision likely to be announced within the next week.

But a poll released today by a different small business lobbying group – Small Business Majority – found that small business owners in eight states polled (both red and blue, including Illinois) favor the landmark national health care reform and want the Supreme Court to keep it intact. Read more »

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
3:58pm
Fri May 25, 2012
4 comments

Medicaid: Cuts Now, Some Revenue Soon? (UPDATED)

Springfield

The General Assembly stayed in session until late Thursday evening to pass a bill that would lop off $1.6 billion from the federal-state Medicaid program that serves 2.7 million Illinois residents. But while state lawmakers worked overtime to enact Medicaid cuts, they just introduced a bill this afternoon that hikes the state cigarette tax and, combined with the cuts, would cover the state’s $2.7 billion in unfunded Medicaid liabilities.