Panel rejects health insurance expansion
27 02 08 - 12:03
By Kurt Erickson
kurt.erickson@lee.net
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SPRINGFIELD -- Setting the stage for more political and legal fireworks, a legislative panel Tuesday again tried to stop Gov. Rod Blagojevich from moving forward with his plan to expand health insurance.
The bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted 8-2 to block an expansion of the state's FamilyCare program for families who can't afford private health insurance coverage.
The same panel rejected the program's expansion last year, but the administration began enrolling people in the program anyway.
Republicans say the sparring is an outgrowth of simmering tensions between Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
"This is a political argument between the speaker and the governor. Who's the biggest guy in the sandbox?" said state Rep. Brent Hassert, R-Romeoville.
Barry Maram, director of the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services said 3,300 people are enrolled at an estimated cost of about $14 million this year.
He told members of the panel that Blagojevich plans to continue expanding the program no matter how the committee ruled, arguing that they can expand health insurance even without legislative approval.
Lawmakers warned the administration's actions could lead to more legal problems. Already, one lawsuit has been filed seeking to determine whether the governor has the power to enact programs without legislative approval.
The agency would not divulge what might happen to people who have signed up for the program if Blagojevich loses the lawsuit.
"We don't want to speculate on that," said Tamara Hoffman, HFS deputy chief of staff.
"You've got a few thousand people in limbo," answered state Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago.
Maram and Hoffman exited the meeting without answering questions from reporters.
Meanwhile, Fritchey and state Rep. David Miller, D-Lynwood, introduced legislation that would expand the FamilyCare program. They say if the governor wants to move forward with his expansion, it should first be debated by the entire General Assembly, rather than go through the 12-member committee.
"We must be a state and nation that is ruled by law, not by gubernatorial decrees, no matter how noble, that ignore the constitutionally mandated role of the legislative branch in the policy making process," Miller said.