Health Care Justice Act Hearings Start Soon

The Illinois Adequate Health Care Task Force will hold the first of 19 hearings (one in each Illinois congressional district) required by the Illinois Health Care Justice Act in August or September, according to Jim Duffett, task-force member and executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care.

Under the Health Care Justice Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2004, the task force is charged with developing a health care access plan ensuring that “all residents have access to quality health care at costs that are affordable.” In the months since the Act’s passage, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the leaders of the Senate and House appointed 29 people to the task force. With appointments complete and operational funding of $1 million included in the 2006 fiscal year state budget, the task force will hold organizational meetings in July and convene its first hearing in August or September. The task force is charged with developing a health care access plan by March 15, 2006, for consideration by the General Assembly. Under the law, the General Assembly is “strongly encouraged” to act on the task force’s recommendations or another plan by December 31, 2006.

For more information, visit the Campaign for Better Health Care’s website, cbhconline.org, or contact Margaret Stapleton , Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, at 312.368.3327.