State Expansions: Illinois

In 2006, Illinois implemented Governor Blagojevich’s All Kids program, becoming the first state in the nation to offer health coverage to all children. Building on this foundation, the Governor proposed the comprehensive Illinois Covered plan to extend coverage to the state’s 1.4 million uninsured adults. However, when the funding mechanism for the proposal (a gross receipt’s tax) came up against opposition from the legislature, the Governor scaled back the reform measures.

Although the Governor's expansion of FamilyCare by emergency rule was thrown out in court, the state has enacted two helpful health care initiatives:

• Lawmakers and the Governor worked together to extend coverage to young adults. Enacted into law in August 2008, young adults are allowed to stay on their family health plan until they turn 26 beginning June 2009.
• Legislation was passed requiring hospitals to offer discounts to uninsured Illinoisans earning less than 600 percent of poverty ($105,600 a year for a family of three in 2008) in urban areas, and rural uninsured earning less than 300 percent of poverty ($52,800 a year for a family of three in 2008).

Illinois Expansion Resources

• Failing Grades: Illinois Fails to Protect Consumers in the Individual Health Insurance Market (Families USA, September 2008)
• Illinois Covered Proposal (Families USA, May 2007)
• Getting "Illinois Covered"- It Makes Fiscal Sense (Families USA, April 2007) 
• Illinois All Kids: A Step in the Right Direction (Families USA, October 2006)
• A Race to the Top: Illinois's All Kids Initiative (Kaiser Family Foundation, August 2007)
• Governor Blagojevich's Illinois Covered
• Campaign for Better Health Care
• Health and Disability Advocates—Access to Health Care
• Senate Bill 5

Illinois in the News

• Fewer Uninsured in Illinois in 2007, but Likely up Again Now (Chicago Tribune, April 21, 2009)
• Insure Your Kid up to Age 26: A New Illinois Law (Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2009)
• Illinois Hospital Discounts Now Available (Chicago Tribune, April 1, 2009)
• Businesses, Employees Paying through the Nose to Stay Healthy (GateHouse News Service, November 10, 2008)
• Blagojevich Can't Expand State-Subsidized Health Care without Lawmakers' Approval, Appellate Court Rules (Chicago Tribune, September 27, 2008)
• Illinois Hospital Discounts Become Law (Chicago Tribune, September 24, 2008)
• Health Coverage Boon for Young Adults (Chicago Tribune, August 19, 2008)

For general resources on state expansions, see Other Resources.

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