State begins negotiations for 90-day insurance contracts; questions remain

CHICAGO — More than 400,000 state employees, dependents and retirees — many of whom were concerned about severely limited choices for health insurance coverage — should have a full range of options — at least temporarily.

The state Department of Healthcare and Family Services on Tuesday told a legislative panel that it would negotiate emergency 90-day contracts with a number of providers, including Urbana-based Health Alliance, within the next three days.

"Our goal will be to do that because we want to get this in place and maintain continuity of care," department Director Julie Hamos said. "I'm sure that right now notices are going out to people who are anxiously awaiting the actions of today."

Hamos made her remarks following a nearly 3-hour-long special meeting of the Legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, which was called after a Sangamon County judge's ruling last week threatened to leave thousands of state employees and others without health insurance coverage on July 1. The meeting was held in downtown Chicago at the Michael A. Bilandic Building.

"I think after Friday's court ruling there was a lot of confusion," Hamos said. "What I think was most distressing to public employees in this entire last two months' period is to think that they had very few options, and it was going to be either a PPO or Blue Cross, which was only in 38 counties. The court's ruling had that effect."

Now, Hamos said, "I think that they can get the assurance that there will be lots of different options for health care plans, although it's only for 90 days at this point."

The emergency contracts, which Hamos said would be negotiated with both providers from the current state fiscal year and the one beginning July 1, could be entered into and approved by state procurement officer Matt Brown in the next few days.

"I think he's working very closely with us. He's standing right there. We weren't necessarily going to let people out of this room," she said, joking. "The (health insurance providers) are already coming up to us and saying, 'We're authorized. Let's sign these contracts. Let's go.' So we are really hoping to finalize this very quickly."

The negotiations were expected to begin Tuesday afternoon, she said.

State employees, dependents and retirees still must choose a health insurance provider by Friday, according to Janice Bonneville, deputy director for benefits at the state Department of Central Management Services. But they will be able to amend that choice, either by submitting a form by fax, by mail or in person by June 24, she said.

"If they've made a decision and they want to change it, they need to fill out a new form and sign it," she said. "What I've basically been telling members is that if you've made a decision and something has happened to make you change that decision, assuming you've saved copies of what you've sent, take another copy, mark through it. Do the new form, staple it to it and write on it that this new form supersedes the form I sent on this date. And put it back in the mail.

"We're going to get it. And we can react to that. What I can't do is tell members that you can wait until the 24th or the 30th. We have to have time to process things."

It's unclear what will happen after the emergency contracts expire.

"This will ensure continuity of coverage for thousands of my constituents for at least the next 90 days," said Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign, one of 12 legislative members of COGFA.

After that, he said, "we'll see what the courts rule."

Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, a co-chairman of COGFA, said it's possible that the legal issue, which is related to COGFA's authority to oversee health insurance contracts, could remain in the courts for more than 90 days.

"If we can't get it resolved from the courts in 90 days, as I understand it, it goes for another emergency procurement, there's a public hearing and it goes before" Brown, the procurement officer, he said.

If the courts find that the procurement process was invalid, "then an entirely new procurement would begin," Brown said. "And I don't think it would be fair to say that it would take less than six to nine months."

"We can't control the time frame by which the courts operate," Schoenberg lamented.

Hamos said "we just don't know what happens after that."

State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said Tuesday night that Gov. Pat Quinn should just continue the existing contracts, including Health Alliance's, for two years, as lawmakers have suggested in legislation they sent him.

The primary vote taken Tuesday by COGFA allowed the department to approve so-called open access plans with PersonalCare and HealthLink. Negotiating short-term contracts with Health Alliance and Humana did not require approval of the commission.

Gov. Pat Quinn did not attend the meeting, which was held across the street from his Thompson Center offices, but he did send his chief legal counsel, John Schomberg, and his senior health policy adviser, Michael Gelder.

"Governor Quinn takes his responsibility as the state's chief executive very seriously," Gelder said. "It's his responsibility to provide health insurance to the state's employees and everyone else covered by the state's group health insurance program."