As of 2008, all residents will be required to obtain health plans through their employers, public health programs, or private insurance. Everyone will be forced to find affordable health coverage on their own, and all employers will have to provide it.
Well, fat chance.
Not to be pessimistic, but if Illinois is anything like the rest of the country, health insurance rates will simply be too high for many employers or private individuals to afford. As it is, in most states a family will pay $7,000 a year for basic insurance. That's an increase in 80% over the last 10 years. Meanwhile, the minimum wage hasn't budged in almost that long, making it impossible for hard working Americans to afford their own health coverage.
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It's sad to hear about what will happen to Illinois health insurance, not just because of changing policy, but because of the struggle that will most certainly come out of it. In the meantime, we will continue to offer the most affordable coverage on the market, and keep an eye out for some better news in the future.
http://www.alliedquotes.com/Resources/Illinois-Health-Insurance.htmlYou have 4 basic options for obtaining health insurance in Illinois:
1. Private Health Insurance
2. Health Insurance through High-Risk Pools
3. Health Insurance through the Chambers of Commerce
4. Health Insurance through Income Eligible Programs
In Illinois you are not guaranteed the right to buy health insurance. Companies that sell individual health insurance in Illinois are free to turn you down because of your health status and other factors. If you are turned down because of a health condition you may be eligible for the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan.
If you are eligible to buy private health insurance you should know that Illinois does not require health insurers in the individual market to sell standardized policies. Health plans can design different policies and you will have to read and compare them carefully.
Once you have health insurance in Illinois your coverage cannot be canceled because you get sick. This is called guaranteed renewability. You have this protection provided that you pay the premiums, do not defraud the company, and, in the case of managed care plans, continue to live in the plan service area. However, guaranteed renewability does not protect you from having your premiums go up at renewal.
http://www.ahirc.org/quickguide_illinois.htmlNo guaranteed right to buy health insurance under the plan that I presume is the one Obama negotiated in Illinois. Not good enough. By no means good enough. Also, your plan cannot be canceled -- unless you can't pay. Then, of course it can be canceled. Tough luck. That is the major problem with health insurance. You pay and pay and pay and then, when you get sick, can't work and have no income, you can't get health insurance. Apparently Obama's plan did not solve this core problem.