August
27, 2018
To
the Honorable Members of
The
Illinois House of Representatives,
100th
General Assembly:
Today I veto House Bill 4165
from the 100th General Assembly, which explicitly prohibits the
State of Illinois from applying for any federal waiver that would permit an
individual or group health insurance plan to reduce or eliminate any protection
or coverage that was in effect on January 1, 2017 or applying for any federal
Medicaid waiver that would result in more restrictive standards, methodologies,
procedures, or other requirements than those that were in effect in Illinois as
of January 1, 2017. The State of Illinois would be wholly restricted from
exercising its flexibility in pursuing insurance coverage options under the
State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, Illinois Insurance Code, and
Illinois Public Aid Code.
This legislation calls for the
State to attain a joint resolution of the General Assembly before pursuing a
federal waiver and would ultimately lessen the executive authority granted to me
for my administration to use its discretion to adjust insurance coverage as
allowed by the federal waiver process under applicable federal statutes such as
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Social Security Act, and
Children’s Health Insurance Program Act. This legislation purports to protect persons
with pre-existing conditions and coverage for services identified as essential
health benefits under the Affordable Care Act, but instead, runs afoul of the
integrity of each of the respective branches of government and permits improper
governmental overreach and heavy-handedness in picking clear winners and losers
in the insurance marketplace in Illinois. The insurance marketplace should
determine what the market will break regarding what coverages should or should
not be offered to consumers, not our elected legislators.
It is my responsibility to ensure
that the most competitive group health insurance plans are made available to
all Illinois citizens. I cannot, in good faith, allow for any erosion of my
gubernatorial charge in this regard.
Therefore, pursuant to
Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby
return House Bill 4165, entitled “AN ACT concerning healthcare”, with the
forgoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
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