Durbin Wins Victory for Uninsured in Illinois
DURBIN WINS VICTORY FOR UNINSURED IN ILLINOIS
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) this week won a victory on behalf of uninsured Illinoisans who are in high-risk health insurance pools. High-risk pools provide health insurance for individuals with medical conditions that make it impossible for them to qualify for health insurance coverage in the regular market.
For the past few weeks, Durbin has been objecting to legislation in the Senate (S. 288, the State High-Risk Pool Funding Extension Act) that would result in funding cuts for Illinois and other states with a large number of people without health insurance. He has been working with Senators to negotiate a formula that is more fair to Illinois and the larger states.
A compromise was reached last night that would help guarantee that Illinois would receive its fair share of federal grants for the operation of high-risk pools. According to initial calculations of the compromise, Illinois would receive $5.4 million. Under the original bill, Illinois was scheduled to receive just $3.8 million in federal funds.
"This is a victory for Illinois and the people who depend on the federal government for their health coverage. I could not stand idly by when the legislative language in the previous Senate bill would have resulted in hundreds of Illinoisans losing their health insurance. The compromise reached today is a critical step in helping to get this legislation through Congress and to the President," Durbin said.
Earlier this month, Durbin sent a letter in response to criticism that he was blocking funding that would help the uninsured. Durbin wrote, "The new bill cuts funding to states with large numbers of uninsured people, such as Illinois, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland and Oklahoma, and increases funding to states with a smaller number of uninsured Americans. There is no reason a state like Illinois that has 1.8 million people lacking access to health insurance should suffer a funding cut of 60 percent while a state like South Dakota with 90,000 uninsured people sees its funding more than double. The money should follow the people in need, not be determined by politics."
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=246664&&