Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas Consider Health Care Proposals

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 29 Aug 2007 - 11:00 PST

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Newspapers recently published articles examining efforts in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois and Kansas to overhaul their health care systems. Summaries of the coverage appear below.

• Colorado: The Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform on Thursday unveiled a fifth proposal for reconfiguring the state's health care system, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports (Scanlon, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 8/24). The commission met on Thursday to compare four plans that would change the state's health care system and to discuss the health care problems facing Colorado (Finley, Denver Post, 8/24). The fifth plan would include an individual health insurance mandate and provide subsidies on a sliding scale based on income for low-income families. In addition, low-income workers who qualify for a government subsidy would be required to use that money to purchase employer-sponsored health insurance if it is offered and costs less than the state insurance plan (Denver Rocky Mountain News, 8/24). The commission also reviewed a report outlining the costs of the four proposed health plans. The most expensive option would be the government-run single-payer plan, which would cost an estimated $26.6 billion annually. The least expensive plan would not include coverage mandates and would offer subsidies for adults and create a health insurance purchasing pool for small businesses. That plan would expand health coverage to about 40% of the state's uninsured residents and cost an estimated $980 million annually (Sealover, Colorado Springs Gazette, 8/24).
  
  
• Georgia: Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) on Thursday unveiled a proposal intended to make health care more accessible and affordable in the state, the Morris/Augusta Chronicle reports. Under the proposal, the state would provide grants to create five health clinics for low-income residents. The clinics would provide treatment for the most common complaints found at emergency departments, including stomach, head or earaches, and sore throats. Cagle's plan also would allow doctors and hospitals to market their services directly to patients and would establish a Web site where residents could compare health insurance policies (Jones, Morris/Augusta Chronicle, 8/24).
  
  
• Illinois: Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) on Thursday said he has cut $463 million from the state budget "in special pet projects and other spending" that the state "simply cannot afford," the Chicago Tribune reports. Blagojevich plans to use the budget cuts to expand existing health care programs after the state Legislature rejected his health expansion proposals. He added that he is "preparing new rules and administrative changes that will give half a million Illinoisans access to health care." Republican analysts said Blagojevich cut $90 million in funding intended for hospitals and nursing homes. Lawmakers also criticized cuts to a program that provides meals to people with AIDS who cannot leave their homes, mental health programs for low-income residents and cost-of-living raises for substance-abuse workers and those who provide services to people with developmental disabilities. However, the Tribune reports that the changes Blagojevich "needs to make to expand his health care programs are expected to receive intense scrutiny and face hurdles before they can take effect" (Long et al., Chicago Tribune, 8/24).
  
  
• Kansas: Three advisory councils -- representing consumers, health providers and health purchasers -- on Monday submitted preliminary recommendations to the Kansas Health Policy Authority on ways to overhaul the state's health care system, the Kansas City Star reports. The consumer advisory council recommended individual and employer health insurance mandates to achieve universal health coverage in the state. According to the consumer council, the plan would require financial participation by individuals, employers, and state and federal governments. The purchaser advisory council, representing insurers and employers, recommended an individual coverage mandate but has "concerns and reservations regarding the practicality of such a requirement." The advisory councils will make their final recommendations to the authority on Sept. 25, and the authority will present proposals to the state Legislature in November (Karash, Kansas City Star, 8/23).

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