Illinois Considers Bill To Limit Hospital Care Costs For Residents Without Health Insurance

Illinois Considers Bill To Limit Hospital Care Costs For Residents Without Health Insurance in Politics and Legislation

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich isn’t the only lawmaker in the Prairie State pushing for health care reform…

New legislation will soon be introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives that would limit the amount uninsured residents would have to pay for their hospital bills.

If passed, Illinois would be the first state in the U.S. to do so, reported the Chicago Tribune.

Under the measure, residents without health insurance would not be required to pay more than 25 percent of their annual income in 12 months for hospital care costs. The bill, from state Rep. Karen May, would also create a maximum amount a hospital could charge for their services.

This would result in deep discounts for hospital care, and fairer treatment for uninsured patients. One study found that hospitals tend to charge the uninsured much more for the same services, than those with some kind of coverage.

The actual discounts patients get will depend on the hospital, but city-dwellers could see up to 50 percent cut off of hospital bills.

Uninsured residents living in urban areas, such as Chicago, would be protected by this law if they earned up to 600 percent of the federal poverty level. Rural Illinois residents could make up to 300 percent of the poverty level.

“This is going to mean that people who need medical treatment are going to be able to get it and that they’re not going to go bankrupt doing it,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Previous versions of the bill had more opposition — but this time around, there seems to be widespread support behind the idea.

“I would be shocked, stunned, if the legislature didn’t take full opportunity of making this benefit available,” said Howard Peters, who is a senior vice president of the Illinois Hospital Association.

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