By Benjamin Yount

SPRINGFIELD  –  Add health insurance reform to the long to-do list for Illinois lawmakers.

Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday said he wants lawmakers in Springfield to pass a package of reforms, including a health insurance consumer's bill of rights, before the legislature adjourns at the end of the week.

Quinn's plan would extend coverage to individuals who are uninsured and have pre-existing conditions.  His "bill of rights' would guarantee coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, require coverage for adult children to age 26, and require insurance companies to be more open about their premiums and costs.  The plan is similar to many of the provisions in the federal health care reform law, some of which will take effect before the end of this year.

Quinn said Illinois is at the top of the list of states with the most number of people dropped or excluded by health insurers.

"This is an ares that we need to really look into.  We don't want people who are most needing of health insurance, at that moment of need, being told that they don't have coverage by their health insurance coverage."

State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said Quinn is right to be looking forward.  But Harris said he has only seen a press release that outlines the benefits of the program, and has yet to see the specifics of a proposed law.

"Good ideas…The devil being in the details [though].  There are obviously going to have to be some fixes to what's being proposed."

The governor is eyeing $200 million from the federal government to pay for the expansion in Illinois.  Quinn is insistent that the new provisions be adopted quickly, so that Illinois can be ready for provisions of the new federal law.

"Right now, this week," Quinn said.  "It's very important, this week, that we get these fundamental reforms in health insurance for consumers adopted by the legislature."

But lawmakers are preparing to leave the Capitol by Friday, and Quinn's Tuesday announcement seems a little late in the game.

Harris said that even though there would be some support for the idea of health insurance reform, there doesn't appear to be any room for it on the legislative agenda. 

"We've got a couple days left of the scheduled session in which we have to pass a state budget, deal with a $13 billion revenue shortfall, relieve [home] owners of undue burdens in the county of Cook, reform McCormick Place so that it can continue to bring billions of dollars of revenue to the state, possibly deal with school vouchers, and a couple of other small odds and ends.  So I don't know what the timing of this is going to be."

Republican lawmakers are also split on the idea, and also question the timing.

Quinn said he understands the concerns, but is still hopeful.