How health reform looks from here
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focused on,” Kruse says. “There actually is very good evidence that when you insure more people in the population and you have the proper primary care infrastructure to take care of them, then costs go down.”
Illinois will also benefit from $11 billion in new funds for community health centers nationwide, such as the Capitol Community Health Center at 2239 E. Cook St. in Springfield.
Forrest Olson, executive director of CCHC, says it’s too early to tell how they will benefit, but he has high hopes for funds which he says could be delivered as early as June.
“There haven’t really been many details yet,” Olson says. “We assume some of the money will be for capital, some for service. … We can always use more space, more doctors and more dentists.”
CCHC, which served 15,769 patients in 2009, is currently in the middle of a planned expansion that will help meet the growing need for health care.
The Illinois Primary Health Care Association, based in Springfield, says community health centers are important because they serve low-income populations that otherwise would have little or no access to health care.
“Community health centers are the quintessential health care safety net for people who are low-income, who don’t have regular access to the health care system,” says Philippe Largent, vice president of governmental affairs for IPHCA. “(The law) is a gigantic step in the right direction, not only for community health centers and their patients, but for the country relative to increasing access to care, increasing (insurance) coverage and starting us on a path of becoming a healthier country.”
Illinois has about 350 community health centers, Largent says, covering about 1.2 million people.
“It’s historic,” says Jim Duffet, executive director of the Campaign for Better Health Care, based in Champaign-Urbana. “We have to make sure that it does succeed and that we can build upon it. This is not a silver bullet, but it’s a damn good framework that’s going to have massive impact, not only for those of us who have health insurance, but for those folks who don’t.”
CBHC has already begun pushing for a state task force to help reshape existing state programs to fit the new federal law and explore a public health insurance option at the state level. Duffet says he has worked for health care reform for nearly 30 years, lobbying Congress and researching reform options, and he says his fight isn’t over.
“We’re going to continue to push for a public option at the state level,” Duffet says, referring to the idea of government-run insurance that would compete with private insurers. “Plus, we know that a large chunk of hardworking Illinoisans are not covered under this proposal, and we also know there’s no money in Illinois right now. We’ve got to be sure this program succeeds and gets implemented correctly.”
In early March, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce published a breakdown of benefits for each of the nation’s 435 Congressional Districts. However, since Springfield is split between three districts – Illinois’ 17th, 18th and 19th – encompassing close to half of the state, it’s tough to tell what share of the benefits Springfield will enjoy. Yet it is clear the benefits will be substantial.
Combined figures for the three districts estimate that about 80,500 previously uninsured residents will gain coverage. The House committee also estimates about 3,700 families in the three districts will benefit from bankruptcy protection in the form of limits on outof-pocket medical expenses of $5,950 for individuals and $11,900 for families. Long-term diseases like cancer can cost more than $100,000 per year, even with health insurance, says a study from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, so caps on out-of-pocket expenses could help prevent heavy medical debt.
“These reforms ensure that no family will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs,” the House committee said.