News Briefs - March 26, 2002● 6-Unit Bill Passes in Illinois House

● Contact Your State Senator about HB 1457

● Nobody Should Go Without Health Care

● Health Care Justice Act of 2003 Fact Sheet: HB 2268 & SB 1430

HB 1457 Passes Illinois House 

The part-time bill has passed the House by a vote of 103-14.  Great!  To view more information regarding the bill go to :

http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1457&GAID=3&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=2247&SessionID=3

http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1457&GAID=3&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=2247&SessionID=3

Now on to the Senate but probably not until April.E-mail from Donna Manering, IEA/NEA on March 15, 2003.

Back to top

Contact Your State Senator about HB 1457

HB 1457, which has passed the Illinois House, is now being considered by the state Senate.  This bill would ease organizing of adjuncts in the public sector by reducing the number of credit hours one must teach in order to be eligible for bargaining unit status.  Currently, adjuncts must teach 6 credit hours per semester; this bill would reduce that to three.  RAFO members should support this - some also teach themselves in the public sector and even for those who don't, broader unionization of adjunct faculty raises the floor for wages and working conditions and thus benefits everyone.Here is the message we've received from Donna Manering of IEA on March 21.  You can follow the link below for more specific information about the bill and its status in the legislature:

As you probably recall, the HB passed the House and is now headed to the Senate.  It is currently in the Rules Committee and will probably not be acted on in Rules for the next week or so.  Then it will be sent to the Senator Labor Committee.  Your cards, emails, phone calls, etc.  will help to ensure the passage of this bill in the Senate.  Go to the http://www.legis.state.il.us website to get names and contact information for the Rules Committee and the Senate Labor Committee and your own legislators (and also the full text of the bill). Please follow-up with at least one contact method for legislators in your area and on the committees.  Contacts DO make a difference.

HB 1457 Legislative History and UpdateAdapted from a notice on the RAFO website (www.rafo.org)

Back to top

Nobody Should Go Without Health Care

All across America millions of people are speaking out about the crisis in health care. Last year, more than 41 million Americans had no health insurance (1.4 million more than the previous year)--and some 30 million more have gone without insurance for some period in the past two years.Lack of affordable health care means that children and parents go without the critical care they need. Higher unemployment, increasing health care and prescription drug costs and employers who refuse to pay their fair share mean that being uninsured is not just a problem for the unemployed. In fact, eight out of 10 uninsured Americans are in working families. Adding to the problem, lack of access to regular care increases costs down the road.No child, no parent, nobody should have to go without health care they need. Please take one minute to contact your representative. Tell them his/her neglect of this crisis is unacceptable. While we work toward comprehensive health care reform, aid to state governments is needed to stop the erosion of health coverage provided by states to the uninsured. Lack of action by Congress is worsening the problem as states are forced to make budget cuts that end up hurting the uninsured.Click on the link below now to send your fax: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/healthcarenow/3nu8zy7m8mAlso, please take one minute right now to tell your friends, family and co workers about this. http://www.unionvoice.org/join-forward.html?domain=wfean&r=3pqd13s1A1z9If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the Working Families e-Activist Network at: http://www.unionvoice.org/wfean/join.html?r=3pqd13s1A1z9EPosted to "Working Families e-Activist Network" <peoplepower@aflcio.org> on March 13, 2003.

Back to top

Health Care Justice Act of 2003 Fact Sheet:  HB 2268 & SB 1430

House: Delgado-McKeon-Flowers-(in formation)Senate: Obama-del Valle-Halvorson-(in formation)

The Health Care Justice Act of 2003 is process plan to achieve universal health care. It is not one specific plan to achieve universal health care. It requires the creation of a Bi-partisan Health Care Reform Commission by September 1, 2003 to oversee the gathering of public input and recommendations for a universal access heath care plan. The Commission and its operations will operate under the Illinois Department of Public Health. On or before January 1, 2007 the State of Illinois shall implement a plan to provide access to health care. This process would occur in three stages:

PART I - Public Hearings/Preliminary Report: 

The Commission shall seek public input on the development of the Health Care Justice Act of 2003 by holding at least 10 public hearings in different geographic locations between January 2, 2004 and September 1, 2004. The Commission may consult with health care providers, health care consumers and others to assist in the development of the Universal Health Care Plan.The Department will contract with an independent research entity experienced in assessing health care reforms, health care financing, and health care delivery models. This private firm will work directly with the staff of the Commission in the development and production of the required reports.A final report will be presented to the Governor and General Assembly on February 1, 2005. The report shall be based upon the public meetings and shall include a comparison analysis of the different proposals submitted by interested parties to achieve universal health care coverage.

PART II - Public Hearings/Comparison Plan Options: 

Following the submission of its final report, the Commission shall hold 10 additional public hearings in different geographic locations to obtain input on the proposed plans submitted during Part I. The hearings shall be held between April 1, 2005 and October 31, 2005.The Commission shall also ensure that residents throughout the state are informed about the different plan proposals under consideration including the content of each of the plan proposals and the impact each may have on the quality, costs and availability of health care services in Illinois.

PART III - General Assembly/Enactment: 

No later than February 1, 2006, the Commission shall recommend their option(s) for implementing affordable and accessible health care for Illinois. The Illinois General Assembly must pass legislation before June 1, 2006 on what plan to implement. Implementation of this plan must occur by January 1, 2007.OTHER COMPONENTS:

● Bi-partisan Health Care Commission: The Commission shall consist of 30 members including the Directors of the Department of: Public Health, Aging, Public Aid, Insurance, and three members of the Department of Human Services (Secretary of the Department, Director of the Division of Disability and Behavior Health Services, and Director of the Division of Community Health and Prevention) -- all of whom shall be ex officio non-voting members.Voting members of the Commission shall include two members appointed by each legislative leader of each party from each Chamber. The remaining fifteen members shall be appointed by the Governor and shall include: health care consumers, advocates for health care consumers, health care providers, health policy analysts, organized labor, business, economists and disability rights organization. Physicians, nurses, social workers and health care administrators shall also have representation on the Commission. Appointment of members of the Commission shall ensure proportional representation with respect to geography, ethnicity, race, gender and age.● Some of the key components of the Plan must include:

○ Provide universal access to a full range of preventive, acute and long-term health care services;○ Maintain and improves the quality of health care services offered to Illinois residents;○ Provide portability of coverage, regardless of employment status;○ Provide uniform benefits for all Illinois residents;○ Cost containment mechanisms including: capital and overall expenditures; avoids unnecessary duplication of facilities and services; and statewide health care budgeting;○ Implement comprehensive health planning;

● Resources for implementing process:The Departments of State government represented on the Commission shall work cooperatively to provide administrative support for the commission.

○ Future Projections:The Commission shall also address any anticipated or actual changes in Federal policies regarding the availability or cost of health care and access their adequacy for achieving the goals of this Act.○ Long-Term Care:The Commission shall consult with the Illinois Department of Aging in developing its recommendations on long-term care services.○ Costs:The cost to implement this process is projected to between $2.4 - $3.0 million. The largest item will be the consulting agreement for the comparison study. The rest would be for staffing and operational support.

For More Information:Campaign for Better Health Care44 E. Main St., Suite #414 1325 S. Wabash, Suite #305Champaign, IL 61820 Chicago, IL 60605(v) 217/352-5600 (v) 312/913-9449(f) 217/352-5688 (f) 312/913-9559 cbhc-cu@cbhconline.org cbhc-chi@cbhconline.org 

THE ILLINOIS CAMPAIGN FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE:The Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care is Illinois' largest grassroots health care coalition representing 316 local and statewide organizations representing consumers, health care workers, and disability rights organizations. labor, community based organizations, seniors, community of faith, and other citizens concerned about health care and wellness. The Campaign is Illinois' health care consumer catalyst committed to grassroots organizing efforts to ensure public input in the creation and ongoing oversight of a health care system that responds to the health care

needs of all people in our state.

Forwarded by Joe Berry to COCAL list on March 18, 2003.Back to top

Last revised on March 26, 2003 by the Webmaster.