WGIL Header

Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast 
7am News, Sports and Obits
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download

Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
 
Programs



Local News
E-mail inquiries and press releases to news@wgil.com

Congressman Says Health Care Reform Will Cost Illinois
A local congressman says he has great concerns about what kind of debt could be added to the state's budget if the federal health care reform legislation were to pass.

18th District Republican Aaron Schock says Illinois citizens are not getting the full story on what it would cost Illinois to implement the proposed health care bill -- specifically, what an expanded Medicare program would cost taxpayers.

Schock told reporters on a conference call Monday he and the rest of the Republican Congressional delegation wrote to the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services asking about the cost, but to no avail.

"Neither Director (Barry) Maram, nor the Governor, nor anyone from the Executive Office in the State of Illinois, has responded to our letter, nor have they provided us or anyone in the public the cost estimates for the Medicaid expansion in this bill," Schock said.

Schock says it's not just Illinois that has this problem, he says other states' governors aren't forthcoming with such information either. The Peoria Republican whose district covers a portion of Knox County says based on current enrollment, Medicaid expansion could cost nearly two billion dollars the state from 2014-2019 alone, according to a Washington think tank.

He likens it to an unfunded government mandate, at a time when the Illinois budget is on crisis.

A vote on health care reform is expected this week in Congress, though Schock says he's not been told when.
03 16 10 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.

 

 
©2010 Galesburg Broadcasting Company
2009 EEO Report