Flash forward to the future: The year is 2014, and Illinois residents are buying their health insurance in a new way. Instead of fumbling with numerous complex health insurance plans, they have the option of buying pre-approved, comprehensive plans through a state-administered website. That’s how a state council on health reform envisions it. The Illinois […]
health care
Posted inNews
Now, how about equal rights for singles?
Illinois’ civil union law undeniably brings a greater sense of equality between same-sex couples and married couples. That’s a good thing – love is love, and if married couples get hundreds of benefits and protections, same-sex couples should have that opportunity too. But now that the law has passed, it’s time to look beyond what […]
Posted inNews
People with disabilities seek independence
Health care reform could be a big plus for the disabled, says one Springfield disability advocate, but only if the state fundamentally changes how it handles those with special needs. Tyler McHaley, president of Springfield Area Disability Activists (www.disabilityactivists.org), shared that message Nov. 16 with the Health Care Reform Implementation Council, a collection of state […]
Posted inNews
Green for governor
If you knew where to look you might have seen him – bearded, bespectacled and biking through Springfield. Looking more like a college professor than a politician, the Green Party candidate for governor, Rich Whitney, spent May 20 through 28 riding his bike and various trains on a 650-mile tour across the state to promote […]
Posted inOpinion
U.S. Senate candidates give each other gifts of gaffes
For a couple of otherwise pretty smart fellas, the two major party candidates for U.S. Senate seem to be playing right into the other’s hands these days. It seems to me at times that Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk doesn’t quite seem to grasp what Illinois is really like outside his north suburban 10th Congressional […]
Posted inNews
Truth about health care reform
Health care reform is barely two weeks old, and many Americans have yet to separate fact from fiction, says Dr. Harry R. Moody, director of academic affairs for the American Association of Retired Persons. Moody, an author and expert on medical ethics, spoke April 2 to students, faculty and staff at Southern Illinois University School […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Health care reform for Christmas?
This could be a critical week in the national health care debate as Democrats aim to deliver reform by Christmas. Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C. have mustered the required 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster of a health care reform bill, clearing the first of the remaining parliamentary hurdles before the massive bill can […]
Posted inNews
Stimulus funds boost electronic health records
The national health care debate continues on Capitol Hill, but that won’t stop Springfield medical leaders from injecting innovation into the local health care scene. Last week U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin and Roland Burris, D-Ill., announced that the United States Department of Health and Human Services would award $750,000 to the Illinois Primary Health Care […]
