Last week, the Illinois House moved forward legislation that would make Illinois the first state in the nation to adopt a Canadian-style "single-payer" health-insurance system. With an 8 to 4 vote on State Rep. Mary Flowers' HB 311, the Democratic-controlled Health Care Availability and Access Committee sent the discussion to the House floor.
House members say the passage of HB 311 is a "long shot" for various reasons. The most sobering is that they consider this a shot at all. If it weren't for the Blagojevich/Madigan Democratic family feud and the fact that Blagojevich's budgets and irresponsible spending has put the state in such financial chaos, the radical liberals who lead our Illinois legislature and sit in the Governor's chair would be pushing us all into a full-blown socialistic state -- right here in the heart of the Midwest.
To qualify for HB 311, one only has to be a resident of Illinois. No citizenship proof, no income verification, nothing other than living in Illinois is required. No residency establishment time is noted.
And what kind of state-provided health care does HB 311 include? Major hospitalization, doctors' visits, pharamceuticals, mental health care, vision and dental care -- a premium health care package, bar none. All provided by Illinois taxpayers - with no assurance of matching funds from the federal level until a nationwide universal health care program is put into place.
The state of Illinois is currently up to 150 days behind on paying its bills to doctors and hospitals. One south suburban hospital just announced its closing because it can't survive by delaying payments based on faulty promises from the state. And yet Rep. Mary Flowers believes it's time to move along the nation's first universal health care in Illinois.
Don't think this will catch on? Rep. Flowers isn't the only House member who wants this plan. There's a list of 27 fellow state reps who've signed on as co-sponsors -- most notably House Speaker Mike Madigan himself, who, at the whisk of the hand (or the bending of an arm) could pass HB 311 to the Senate, and off to an anxious, eager governor.
Those House members who've sign on with Rep. Flowers are Mike Boland - LaShawn K. Ford - Michael J. Madigan - Barbara Flynn Currie, Constance A. Howard, Monique D. Davis, Kenneth Dunkin, Esther Golar, Elizabeth Hernandez, Charles E. Jefferson, Jack McGuire, Milton Patterson, Karen A. Yarbrough, Wyvetter H. Younge, Annazette Collins, Cynthia Soto, Greg Harris, Deborah L. Graham, Harry Osterman, Naomi D. Jakobsson, Robert Rita, Al Riley, Robert S. Molaro, William Davis, Edward J. Acevedo and Joseph M. Lyons. None of them face stiff Republican opposition in the fall elections.
Calls into the Capitol (217 782 8000) about this outrageous proposal would be a good idea. Constituent silence could easily be mistaken for agreement.
Universal health care should have no shot whatsoever in Illinois.
