SB 1313 - Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Board bill for ObamaCare fails to have hearing and vote in House Insurance Committee yesterday.
SB 1313 (Mautino) will be amended (House Amendment #4 and more to come) to create an Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Board to comply with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ObamaCare). The Exchange Board will oversee the "qualified health plans" that will provide health insurance under ObamaCare.
In addition to the pro-life concerns that any bill to establish the PPACA requirements in Illinois must contain a provision to prohibit abortion coverage [abortion opt-out] on any health plans that are paid for by tax dollars, there were issues from the business community and the insurance industry in Illinois. The sponsor has thus decided not to move on the bill until next year.
Some legislators and staff told me that our demand that Illinois must contain an abortion opt-out provision was important to have been made now so that legislators and the administration understand this must be reckoned with before any major part of PPACA passes. This is a complicated universal health insurance law. Leading up to 2014, when ObamaCare is supposed to come into full force, there will be a number of pieces of legislation to make it work in Illinois and nationally. This is fluid, so bill numbers may change over time, but for now it is SB 1313 and House Amendment #4.
Please continue to spread the word that legislators need to know that Illinois does not want to use any tax dollars to pay for abortion coverage under the PPACA.
Contact: Ralph Rivera
Source: Illinois Citizens for Life
