Gov. Pat Quinn wasn’t especially visible when Illinois residents were signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage last year, but on Tuesday he called getting people health coverage the “mission of a lifetime.”
Three things have changed: The state has far exceeded expectations for how many people it has signed up for health coverage, public attitudes toward the program have improved, and President Barack Obama will raise money for a re-election-seeking Quinn in Chicago on Thursday.
The Democratic governor on Tuesday announced that Illinois has signed up 468,000 people through the state’s Medicaid program, far more than the roughly 200,000 Quinn administration expected to sign up this year and also surpassing the 342,000 the state thought would ever enroll under the health care expansion. Another 217,000 in Illinois signed up for private insurance coverage via the exchange set up under the health law.
“We really support President Obama and the Affordable Care Act. We understand how important that is to families who work hard, who live from paycheck to paycheck. It’s important that they have decent health coverage,” Quinn said during a news conference at a medical center in Pilsen.
The second open enrollment period for Obamacare starts Nov. 15. Meanwhile, state lawmakers have yet to pass legislation which would allow Illinois to customize its marketplace for consumers to compare and buy health coverage. Instead, Illinois is one of 36 states that relied on the federal government to host its marketplace on HealthCare.gov, the website that overcame a problematic launch last year.
Illinois could get hundreds of millions of federal dollars to help set up its own exchange, but that money is off the table at year’s end. Asked whether the state will act before then on an Illinois marketplace, Quinn offered little insight Tuesday.
“That could happen,” he said. “Obviously it would be after Nov. 19, when the legislature resumes. Whether it’s a partnership like we have now, or a state-run program … either way our job is to get as many people as possible in health coverage in our state.”
Quinn faces Republican challenger Bruce Rauner in the Nov. 4 election. The Rauner campaign did not respond to a request for comment on where the Republican candidate stands on Obamacare.
In late March, Rauner warned of the potential for a “massive” budget hole down the road due to Quinn’s Medicaid expansion. Still, Rauner stopped short of saying Illinois should roll back the expanded Medicaid program. Many Republican governors have opposed adding to the number of people on the taxpayer-funded, federal-state health care program. The federal government is on the hook for 100 percent of the costs of expanding Medicaid through the end of 2016. Its responsibility tapers to 90 percent by 2020, leaving states to pick up the balance.
A Tribune poll last month showed that only 15 percent of 800 registered voters in Illinois surveyed believed the health law should remain as is, with 54 percent saying it should be improved and 25 percent saying it should be repealed.
With the election a little more than a month away, legislative hearings are scheduled to resume next week on Quinn’s troubled Neighborhood Recovery Initiative anti-violence grant program. The hearings will take place the day after First Lady Michelle Obama is supposed to make a campaign appearance on Quinn’s behalf.
“You know, the election’s 35 days from today, and I work hard every day on our government responsibilities and I have to campaign well,” said Quinn when asked about the timing of the appearances. “And so I’m very happy to have the support of President Obama and the first lady.”
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Tribune reporter Peter Frost contributed.
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