Friday, September 26, 2008 9:00 PM CDT
Court denies Blagojevich health care expansion
SPRINGFIELD (AP) — Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration doesn’t know who it’s signed up for an enlarged health insurance program, how much money in premiums it’s collected or even where that money is, according to a court ruling Friday that blocked the program’s expansion.
Illinois’ First District Appellate Court in Chicago upheld a lower court’s decision to deny Blagojevich permission to broaden FamilyCare after he was rebuffed by the General Assembly — twice — and the secretary of state.
The Democratic governor went ahead anyway, offering FamilyCare to participants with higher incomes, up to $83,000 a year for a family of four. The higher the incomes, the larger the premiums.
In a lawsuit filed by a lawyer and two business-group representatives, Blagojevich lawyers admitted they had virtually no record of the program.
They said the administration can’t identify participants or contact them, monitor premium payments or refund them, and don’t even know how much they’ve collected in premium payments or where the money is. That, along with the Legislature’s rejection of the program, raised “severe concerns,” Judge James Fitzgerald Smith wrote in issuing the court’s opinion.
“You’ve got an agency which is totally incompetent and a governor and agency head who are breaking the law,” said Ron Gidwitz, one of the plaintiffs.
Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said he was looking into the matter and had no immediate comment.
Unless Blagojevich appeals and the state Supreme Court accepts the case, the issue goes back to circuit court, which would conduct a hearing on whether the program is legal. But injunctions typically are granted when the plaintiffs have a good case.
The Democratic governor asked the Legislature last year to expand state-subsidized health care by raising income limits, adding 147,000 people at a cost of about $40 million. The Legislature refused, as did a legislative rules-making body and Secretary of State Jesse White.
But Blagojevich began enrolling newcomers. The administration continued even after Circuit Judge James Epstein issued his April injunction. It took another court order to get Blagojevich to stop.
By then, officials said they had enrolled 30,000 people and would continue to offer them coverage.
Greg Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association and a plaintiff, called the lack of records “appalling” and said it’s likely plaintiffs will ask the judge to appoint an outside monitor to “unwind” the program because Blagojevich can’t be trusted.
Auditor General William Holland’s reviews have repeatedly chastised the Blagojevich administration for its lackluster record-keeping and inability to follow rules in a variety of programs and agencies.
To justify the expansion, Smith said, Blagojevich was picking favorable parts of federal welfare law to enroll participants who don’t even qualify for welfare.
“The FamilyCare program, then, is in direct contradiction to the unambiguous language of the code defendants rely upon to operate it,” Smith wrote.
“It’s unfortunate it’s taken this long to point out what we felt from the beginning, the governor and his administration had overstepped their bounds,” Baise said.
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Mike P wrote on Sep 27, 2008 8:06 AM:
Sham healthcare ruse, ought to spell another charge on the ultimate federal charges. Run this fella out on a pike. Get all his records, and refund every dime he ever got from taxpayers. State treasurer, better get the class action ball rolling, this guys assets are going to be eaten up by lawyers quicker than OJ's "