U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., stressed the importance of the House of Representatives passing the Senate’s health-care reform and reconciliation bills during a news conference at his home Sunday.
The overhaul would extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and ban insurance practices such as refusing coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
“I think it’s a good step forward to start providing competition and choice for small businesses when it comes to health insurance and to try to address the skyrocketing costs,” Durbin said of health-care reform.
The senator also noted that health insurance premiums in Illinois recently have gone up 60 percent in some cases.
“This is unsustainable,” Durbin said.
Durbin said the bills also would increase the number of health-care clinics throughout the state, more than doubling the number currently in existence.
“We are trying to make sure that we work with governors who are trying to get their state budgets back on track,” Durbin said. “It’ll be five, six or seven years before all of this happens.”
Durbin also spoke about another bill, one that would provide an additional $600 million in funding for the Medicaid program in Illinois. The American Workers, State and Business Relief Act of 2010 is awaiting approval by the U.S. House.
Durbin said the bill would extend the increased Medicaid federal match rate made available to states under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Nearly one out of five people in Illinois s enrolled in the Medicaid program, he said, adding almost half of them are children.
“We’re dealing with Medicaid’s role swelling because of unemployment,” Durbin said. “If folks lose their job and their health insurance, sometimes in desperation they turn to Medicaid.”
The relief act also contains extensions of unemployment benefits, COBRA insurance help and several tax credits, such as the biodiesel tax credit, and would prevent cuts in the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors.
Rhys Saunders can be reached at 788-1521.
