An Illinois business coalition on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) proposed expansion of a state-funded insurance program is unconstitutional because it has not received legislative approval, the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/5).

Blagojevich last month issued an order to expand FamilyCare, a state program that subsidizes health care for families, despite a vote by a legislative oversight panel to block the plan. The Blagojevich administration has told state agencies that FamilyCare is being expanded, and they already have begun signing up new beneficiaries. The expansion could reach 147,000 people. Under the expansion, eligibility would be extended to families of four with annual incomes up to $82,600. Currently, families with annual incomes up to $38,202 are eligible for the program. The panel, in voting against the plan, questioned how the state would pay for an expansion (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/20).The expansion would cost about $43 million this year, according to the AP/Post-Dispatch.

Ron Gidwitz -- chair of the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity, which filed the lawsuit -- said, "The message ultimately, when it's played out, will be: 'We've got a constitution. Governor, obey the constitution.'" The coalition claims the expansion could lead people to sign up for coverage that is never provided and for hospitals to provide services for which no reimbursement is received. The lawsuit names Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Barry Maram and state Comptroller Daniel Hynes as defendants because they would carry out the governor's directive to expand FamilyCare.

State Rep. John Fritchey (D) noted that Blagojevich is not named as a defendant, and said, "This is not about personalities or politics, but about the sanctity of the process and the constitutionality of the administration's attempt to drastically expand health care without the consent of the Legislature." According to Abby Ottenhoff, a Blagojevich spokesperson, "Every Democratic leader in Illinois should join us in fighting this lawsuit and help protect the hardworking people who rely on us for health coverage so they can keep seeing a doctor" (AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/5).

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