With all due respect to state Rep. Carolyn Krause (R-Mt. Prospect), I must strongly disagree with her views regarding the Illinois version of the KidCare health program (Voice, June 14).
First, let’s make clear that KidCare is a national health-care plan, approved in 1997. It is federally funded, being phased in state by state, and is controlled by the dictates of federal funds, timelines, etc.
Second, the Illinois version of KidCare, (CHIP, Children’s Health Insurance Program,) is not a separate entity from Medicaid and is not limited to “low-income, working class families” either. The bill, House Bill 705, says that the “program shall be administered by the Department of Public Aid . . . and at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.”
For a family of four, this would be approximately $36,000 a year. This is reaching into the middle class. Some states, such as Minnesota, go as high as 275 percent with their version of KidCare.
No, the word “abortion” is not in the language of the bill, but “community-based care,” provided by organizations such as Planned Parenthood, is.
House Bill 705 was a “fast track” bill and referred to as a “shell bill” because it could be gutted to reflect the language of another bill. Citizens were not alerted to its existence until May 7.
Still in question and serious doubt: When and where were those public hearings?
