Budget - Debt Rating
Bloomberg News analysis shows Illinois’ 10-year bonds trading at below BBB level. The actual level of safety and security perceived by global debt markets is set by the bond marketplace, with guidance from the three credit rating services (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings). However, after the 2008 financial panic, many investors have become skeptical of credit rating services. A Bloomberg News analysis, published on Thursday, August 7, indicates that this skepticism may be weighing down the prices of Illinois bonds.

In response to a request initiated by Rep. Darlene Senger (R-Naperville), the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced they will review allegations that Federal grant money may have been misspent on a poorly managed program to market and promote Illinois enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

In a letter from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) dated July 23 and announced by Rep. Senger today, the OIG states they will conduct a “review of potential criminal and civil fraud violations and misconduct related to HHS programs, operations and beneficiaries. On the basis of the review, we will determine the appropriate course of action.” Read more.

Catastrophic health policies are intended to attract young consumers to the Obamacare health insurance exchanges by offering cheap coverage, but the plans offered in Cook County and 12 other counties in Illinois don't charge the lowest premiums, according to a Crain's analysis.

Four states, including Texas and Florida, also offer catastrophic plans that aren't the lowest-cost alternative, according to an analysis of more than 2,700 plans offered in 36 states where the federal government is running the exchanges. Andrew L. Wang at Crain's has the story.

Concealed Carry
New Illinois State Police website for concealed carry pre-applicants and applicants.  Pre-applicants for a firearms concealed carry license (CCL) are invited to visit a new website, https://ccl4illinois.com/ccw/public/home.aspx, to establish their digital password ID and learn about the segments of their application they will be requested to fill out, including a strong suggestion that they submit fingerprints to speed up their background check.  The CCL applications themselves will become available to the general public no later than Sunday, January 5, 2014.  The State Police requests that e-applicants pay $150 with their applications, in addition to the costs to the applicant for pre-licensure training and fingerprinting services.

Pensions – Illinois credit rating
Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s issue positive statements about Illinois pension progress.  After pension reform bill SB 1 was signed into law on Thursday, December 5, global credit-rating firm Moody’s labeled the move a “credit positive.”  Moody’s currently ranks Illinois’ general-obligation (G.O.) debt as A3 with a negative outlook, the lowest ranking among the 50 states, and this rating did not change this week.   The statement by the New York-based debt watchdog described itself as awaiting independent actuarial confirmation of the proclaimed $160 billion in savings “clawed back” from pledged future pension payments by the controversial measure.   The statement was issued on Friday, December 6.

Through two months of open enrollment in new health insurance plans created under President Barack Obama’s health care law, nearly 365,000 Americans have selected policies, including 7,043 in Illinois, administration officials said Wednesday.

The numbers, which include sign-ups from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, are still short of the roughly 500,000 the Obama administration estimated would sign up in October alone, the first month of the new health insurance exchanges designed for consumers to compare and purchase health coverage.

Officials did not break out enrollment figures by month, a decision they said would eliminate double-counting some consumers, who may apply, shop and select plans in separate months. Through Oct. 31, 106,000 Americans, including 1,370 in Illinois, selected policies, according to figures released last month.

The relatively low figures underscore the tumultuous first two months of HealthCare.gov, the federal website that operates the online marketplaces for 36 states, including Illinois, which has been beset by technical problems that prevented many from completing applications.  Peter Frost has the story in the Chicago Tribune.

Pensions – General Assembly
General Assembly to meet in session on Tuesday, December 3.  The session is expected to deal with the ongoing Illinois pension crisis.  Many State lawmakers and statewide elected officials have called for action to deal with at least $97 billion in unfunded liabilities reported by four major pension systems managed by boards of directors appointed by the State of Illinois, and partly funded by taxpayers.

Illinois Tornadoes

• Tornadoes strike communities throughout Illinois.  While twelve states were affected, Illinois was especially hard-hit by the severe frontal system that moved eastward on Sunday, November 17.  Death and destruction followed cyclonic strikes, including at least two tornadoes measured at a severe EF-4 on the North American scale of intensity, on the central Illinois city of Washington, located east of Peoria; the central Illinois town of Gifford, north of Champaign-Urbana; the southern Illinois town of New Minden, east of St. Louis; the far southern Illinois town of Brookport, north of Paducah; and other communities in Illinois.  More than 1,500 Illinois homes were damaged or destroyed. 

Rep. Tom Demmer

Last week lawmakers, including Rep. Tom Demmer, asked the Illinois Department of Insurance to provide them with the number of Illinoisans who have obtained healthcare coverage through the Illinois Health Exchange Marketplace and the number of Illinois families who have had their health insurance cancelled. Some numbers have been estimated about enrollment, but there has been no mention about the number of people who lost health coverage, or whose insurance rates have increased.

Even if you are not sure how you feel about the Affordable Care Act, if you believe the state of Illinois should make information available so Illinoisan can make better decisions about their own healthcare, please sign Rep. Demmer's petition using greater transparency.

State Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville, has joined the call to delay enactment of a key provision in the federal Affordable Care Act.

The “individual mandate” that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or be subject to a tax penalty survived a constitutional challenge in 2012 when the Supreme Court cleared the way for its implementation. Still, it continues to be challenged by conservative lawmakers, some of whom say time is running out for consumers to meet the requirements for the scheduled full rollout of the act seven weeks from now.

Senger introduced House Resolution 680 in Springfield on Tuesday, and Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, and three other GOP House members joined her as chief cosponsors the following day. Another 39 of their remaining 42 Republican peers also signed on as cosponsors Wednesday. Read the rest of the story by Susan Frick Carlman in the Naperville Sun.

You might also find these stories of interest:

Only 'hundreds' enroll in Illinois exchange

Legislators: How many Illinoisans lost healthcare plan due to fed insurance requirements?

Week in Review for 11/4/13 through 11/8/13

House Republican members call for health insurance
numbers at November 7th press conference.

Via Crains Chicago Business,  November 8, 2013
   
Only hundreds of people enrolled in the Illinois health insurance exchange in October, state officials said today, offering the first glimpse into an online marketplace that has been vexed by glitches.

Insurance carriers have told state officials that hundreds of consumers signed up in October, confirmed Jennifer Koehler, director of the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace. But she and Cristal Thomas, Illinois deputy governor, cautioned that it was just a guess since federal officials haven't yet provided enrollment figures.

“We do not know,” Ms. Thomas said. “If we have to guess we would guess probably in the hundreds.”  Kristen Schorsch and Andrew L Wang tell the story in Crains Chicago Business.

In response to stories about Illinois residents who lost their current health insurance coverage or experienced rate increases, Rep Darlene Senger is asking the Illinois Department of Insurance to publicly disclose the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Illinois families.

House Resolution 680 introduced by Senger and co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost and more than 39 other legislators, urges the Illinois Department of Insurance to release information regarding the number of people in Illinois whose current health insurance plan was cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act and the number of Illinoisans who have obtained health insurance through the Illinois marketplace. Read more about HR680.

 Bellock says Illinois is taking a $6.5 billion risk
with Medicaid expansion.

Obamacare is doing what it was designed to do in Illinois — adding thousands upon thousands of people to the state’s Medicaid rolls.

Gov. Pat Quinn bragged Tuesday about the more than 100,000 people he said have enrolled through the Affordable Care Act. But Quinn left out two very important facts. Almost all of those people were early enrollees last year, and every single one of them enrolled in Medicaid.

 Rep. Patti Bellock is the GOP point person on Medicaid in the Illinois House of Representatives. She has been trying to tell Quinn and his fellow Democrats that Illinois is taking a huge risk by opening Medicaid to that many people. Benjamin Yount has the whole story at Illinois Watchdog.com.

House Republican Leader-Elect Jim Durkin
Jim Durkin welcomes new members, prepares for first session as House Republican Leader.  Durkin, who was unanimously elected to lead the 47-member Illinois House Republican Caucus, is working in preparation for the October-November convening of the Illinois General Assembly in 2013 “veto session.”   The veto session, which is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, October 22, will deal with bills passed in the spring session and then vetoed by the Governor.

Budget

·         State budget picture improves.  The September 2013 monthly update on Illinois economic activity published by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA), the economic “think tank” maintained by the General Assembly, reports that General Funds revenue receipts for the first quarter of FY14 are tracking ahead of the receipts for the same period in FY13.  For the first three months of FY14, net General Funds receipts total $8.433 billion.  This total is $700 million higher than the FY13 total for the first quarter.  A primary reason for the increase in FY14 revenue receipts is a one-time spike in transfers in August from the Income Tax Refund Fund into the General Fund.  This one time transfer accounts for $397 million of the first quarter revenue growth.

Receipts from both the personal income tax and the corporate income tax have also seen growth compared to FY13.  Revenue from the personal income tax is up $205 million (net of refunds) and receipts from the corporate income tax are up $75 million (net of refunds).  Perhaps the strongest surprise in growth is due to the sales and use tax, which is up $139 million year to date.  Strong continued growth will be necessary to provide sufficient revenue to support the $35.446 billion appropriated in this year’s FY14 spending bills.  More information may be found at http://cgfa.ilga.gov/Home.aspx.

Representative Patti Bellock, House GOP budget negotiator speaks to the concerns of SB26, the Expansion of Medicaid Bill that passed out of committee today.