Quinn mulls executive order for health insurance exchange
(Crain's) ? Gov. Pat Quinn is weighing whether to use an executive order to jump-start planning for Illinois? health insurance exchange, a move that could rankle both state legislators and business groups.
In an apparent sign of impatience with the slow-moving Illinois General Assembly, a spokeswoman for the governor said the administration may use the order to create the ?skeleton? of an exchange, which would allow staff to push forward with planning efforts.
That option immediately drew criticism.
?We would not favor that approach,? said Laura Minzer, executive director of the Health Care Council of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
The council, which represents employers, prefers a legislative agreement and is concerned because they have not seen a draft of executive order, she said.
Rep. Frank Mautino, a Democrat from downstate Spring Valley who has been at the center of negotiations about the exchange, said: ?I would rather see a bill put in place by the Legislature and agreed to by the governor.?
The governor?s spokeswoman declined to disclose details about the language of the proposed order.
?The goal would not be to replace legislation establishing the exchange but to give us the structure we need to get started on the planning, designing and implementation of the exchange while the General Assembly continues its work,? she said in an email.
The governor's office will meet with lawmakers later this month to discuss the exchange and decide whether to proceed with an executive order, the spokeswoman said.
State insurance exchanges, which are intended to serve as a marketplace for individuals and small businesses to buy health insurance, are a critical part of the Obama administration's health care overhaul. Around 1.4 million Illinois residents are expected to get coverage through the exchange by 2020.
Deadlines for Illinois? exchange are looming.
By October, the state must submit its plan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In the meantime, the state must apply by June 29 for another round of federal funding to develop an exchange. To access some of that money, Illinois would need to have the legal authority to establish and run the exchange. Legislation would still be needed to qualify for that funding, regardless of the executive order, the governor?s office said.
But lawmakers in Springfield and interest groups are far apart on a number of questions about how an exchange would operate.
Among the flashpoints:
? who would sit on the exchange's governing board;
? who would select board members;
? whether the exchange would take an active or a passive role in securing insurance options for users;
? how the organization would be funded.
?The goal is clear, at least to the extent that we're trying to facilitate access to coverage. How we get there is the problem a legislature faces,? says attorney and former New York Medicaid Director Deborah Bachrach, special counsel at New York firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP.
Following Mr. Quinn's budget address Wednesday, Rep. Mautino said he will try to meld an exchange bill that he recently introduced with proposals from the Chamber of Commerce and the Campaign for Better Health Care, a consumer group.
?Inside each issue are 20 little issues,? he said. ?I don't expect it to be easy.?
Jim Duffett, executive director of the Champaign-based campaign, called creating the exchange via an order ?a very viable thing? that would ?move the process forward.?
Lawmakers spent the second half of 2011 considering options through the bipartisan Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Legislative Study Committee.
Several exchange-related amendments were introduced into the General Assembly last year, but none passed.
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