Illinois Hospital Association endorses Gov. Blagojevich's plan to provide comprehensive health coverage for every uninsured child in Illinois

CHICAGO - At a press conference in the lobby of the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital on Chicago's South Side, the Illinois Hospital Association today endorsed Governor Rod R. Blagojevich's landmark All Kids proposal that would make Illinois the only state in the nation to provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance for every child in the state.  The Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) represents approximately 200 hospitals and health systems in Illinois and the patients and communities they serve. IHA joins more than 400 organizations representing medical facilities, doctors, nurses, educators, labor, child advocates and clergy that have endorsed the Governor's plan since he introduced it two weeks ago. 

 

"The Governor's All Kids plan will help hospitals provide the care that children need and deserve. It promises to give children the right care at the right time so they can grow up to live active and productive lives," said Ken Robbins, president of the Illinois Hospital Association.

 

"I'm proud to have the Illinois Hospital Association join our effort to pass the All Kids plan. Perhaps only parents know more than IHA's 200 hospital members about how important access to comprehensive and affordable health care is to children.  No child should have to wait for medical attention until the only option is the emergency room. Each and every child in Illinois should have health care, and All Kids will make that possible," said Gov. Blagojevich.

 

In Illinois, 253,000 children are without health insurance.  More than half of Illinois' uninsured children come from working and middle class families who earn too much to qualify for programs like KidCare, but not enough to afford private health insurance.  The Governor's program would make comprehensive health insurance available to children, with parents paying monthly premiums and co-payments for doctor's visits and prescription drugs at affordable rates. 

 

"The University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital treats children who are among the sickest in the region. Many of them are from working families who don't qualify for KidCare. Through All Kids, the Governor has taken a groundbreaking step that targets this often ignored segment of our society. All Kids will help our children to grow up to live active and productive lives because they will have access to affordable health care," said Michael Riordan, President and CEO of University of Chicago Hospitals.

"A program like All Kids would go far toward solving one of the biggest problems we see here at the Comer Hospital: children who do not have health insurance and therefore come to us quite ill because they don't get preventive care, such as immunizations and diagnostic tests. The state of Illinois has an opportunity to be a national leader in providing all children the health care they deserve," added Dr. Steve Goldstein, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Comer Children's Hospital.

 

Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Michael J. Madigan are the lead sponsors of legislation creating the All Kids health insurance program and have vowed to push for its passage during the upcoming fall veto session so the program can be up and running by July 1, 2006. The organizations vowed to help the Governor build support to pass his All Kids plan and to help enroll children in the plan, should it pass.

 

Over the past two and a half years, the Blagojevich Administration has worked to expand health coverage for low-income, working parents and their children.  Since January of 2003, 170,000 more children in Illinois received health insurance, and Illinois is now ranked as the second best state in the nation by the Kaiser Family Foundation for providing health care to children who need it (Illinois is also now the top ranked state in the nation for providing health care to adults who need it).

 

Despite these gains, there are still uninsured children in every corner of the state.  Based on adjusted 2003 Census data, approximately 253,000 children in Illinois do not have health insurance. Twelve percent of children in Cook County, the state's most populated county, are uninsured.  In Pulaski County at the southern tip of Illinois, nearly 15% of children lack health coverage.  In St. Clair County, 9.3% of children do not have health insurance.  In Sangamon County, home to Illinois' capitol, 8.6% of kids are not insured.  Even in suburban DuPage County, one of the twenty-five wealthiest counties in the United States, 7.2% of children have no health insurance.  

 

The Governor's All Kids program would offer children access to comprehensive health care, including doctor's visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, vision care, dental care and medical devices like eye glasses and asthma inhalers.

 

Research shows that uninsured children suffer because they do not have access to adequate medical care.  For example:

 

·                    The Kaiser Family Foundation found that uninsured children are 70% less likely than children with insurance to receive medical care for conditions like ear infections, and 30% less likely to receive medical attention when they are injured. 

 

·                    A National Health Interview Survey found that 59% of uninsured children did not see a doctor for a check-up in the past year and 38% of children have no regular place to go for medical care.  These factors put uninsured children at higher risk for hospitalization or missed diagnoses of serious conditions.

 

Participants in the new program will pay monthly premiums and co-payments for doctors visits and prescriptions, but unlike private insurance that is too expensive for so many families, the rates for All Kids coverage will be based on a family's income.  The state is able to offer All Kids insurance coverage at much lower than market rates for middle-income families by leveraging the significant negotiating and buying power it already has through Medicaid. 

 

For example, a family with two children that earns between $40,000 and $59,999 a year will pay a $40 monthly premium per child, and a $10 co-pay per physician visit. A family with two children earning between $60,000 and $79,999 will pay a $70 monthly premium per child, and a $15 co-pay per physician visit.  However, there will be no co-pays for preventative care visits, such as annual immunizations and regular check ups and screenings for vision, hearing, appropriate development or preventative dental.  These premiums for middle-income families are significantly more affordable than typical private insurance premiums of $100 to $200 a month, or $2,400 per child annually.

 

The state will cover the difference between what parents contribute in monthly premiums and the actual cost of providing health care for each child, expected to be $45 million in the first year, with savings generated by implementing a primary care case management model (PCCM) for participants in the state's FamilyCare and All Kids health care programs.  Participants will choose a single primary physician who will manage their care by ensuring they get immunizations and other preventative health care services and avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.  Patients with chronic conditions like asthma or diabetes will have a single care manager to make sure they are getting the treatments and ongoing care they need to avoid acute care.  Primary care physicians will make referrals to specialists for additional care or tests as needed. 

 

By ensuring patients get adequate preventative care on the front end, fewer people will need expensive specialized care or emergency care for critical conditions.  In children, preventative care is especially important.  For example, infants with stomach flu (gastroenteritis) who receive appropriate primary care can avoid being hospitalized for dehydration.  Providing a timely exam and appropriate antibiotic treatment for children with ear infections (otitis media) can prevent chronic ear problems, loss of hearing and the need for surgically placed tubes to relieve fluid build up.  Treating children with bronchitis or minor lung infections in a primary care setting can help to avoid more expensive hospitalization treatment of pneumonia, including intravenous antibiotics and respiratory treatments.  And early identification and appropriate treatment of children who have chronic illnesses, such as asthma, will result in fewer expensive emergency room and inpatient care visits.     

 

Twenty-nine other states, including North Carolina, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, have realized significant savings by using this model for their Medicaid programs.  Based on independent analyses, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services estimates the state will save more than $56 million in the first year by implementing the PCCM model in all state health programs but those that serve seniors and the blind.

 

Evidence shows that in addition to lacking adequate medical care, children without health insurance are at a disadvantage in the classroom.  For example:

 

·                    According to a Florida Healthy Kids Annual Report in 1997, children who do not have health coverage are 25% more likely to miss school. 

 

·                    A California Health Status Assessment Project on children's health published in 2002 found that children who recently enrolled in health care saw their attendance and performance improve by 68%. 

 

·                    And a 2002 study in Vermont entitled Building Bridges to Healthy Kids and Better Students conducted by the Council of Chief State School Officers showed that children who started out without health insurance saw their reading scores more than double after getting health care.

 

Research also provides strong economic reasons for insuring all children.  Delayed treatment can result in more complex, more threatening and more expensive care later.  While the uninsured pay approximately 35% of their medical bills out of pocket, more than 40% ends up being absorbed by those who do have health insurance in the form of higher premiums.  According to a recent Families USA report, the cost of paying for the uninsured will add $1059 to the average family's insurance premiums here in Illinois in 2005.  IHA hospitals and health care systems alone provide $1.2 billion in uncompensated care each year.

 

In addition, investing in health care can have a positive impact on local economies.  Over the past five years, the health care industry has created nearly 40,000 new jobs in Illinois.  Health care is the second-fastest growing industry in the state, and one of the fastest in the nation. 

 

More information about All Kids is available online at www.allkidscovered.com.

 

IHA joins more than 400 other organizations supporting the Governor's effort to pass the All Kids plan during the fall veto session.  The organizations include: