THE URBAN INSTITUTE Health Policy for Low-Income People in Illinois Jack A. Meyer and Stephanie E. Anthony llinois, described as a microcosm of State Characteristics America, has a mix of metropolitan areas—including the third-largest Sociodemographic Profile city in the country—small towns, and vast farmland. A crossroads In 1994–95, Illinois’s population was between east and west, Illinois is a 11.8 million, which has remained relatively TE POLICIES TE POLICIES major transportation hub and has steady in recent years. The age distribution A A a strong industrial base, partic- of the state’s population closely reflects ularly in the Chicago area. that of the nation. Children under age 18 Traditionally, many in- comprise 27.3 percent of Illinois’s Idustries in the state have offered population, compared with 26.8 generous employee benefits, Movement percent of the total U. S. popu- and, as a result, Illinois lation. The corresponding boasts a high employer- toward managed figures for the elderly sponsored health in- care in the Illinois health population are 11.7 surance rate and a percent and 12.1 low uninsurance care market has occurred percent, respec- rate. Managed care tively. penetration in Illinois is much less rapidly than in Virtually the same significantly lower than the nation as a proportion of people in the national averages for both Illinois are non-Hispanic the private and public sectors. In whole. whites as in the nation (72.5 NEW FEDERALISM NEW FEDERALISM general, the sweeping changes tak- percent and 72.6 percent, respec- ing place in health care markets across tively). Among the remaining one- the country have not created the level of fourth or so of the population, there are HIGHLIGHTS OF ST disruption in Illinois as elsewhere. proportionately more non-Hispanic blacks HIGHLIGHTS OF ST The low-income population in Illinois has in Illinois than in the United States (15.7 per- also benefited from widespread employer- cent versus 12.5 percent) and slightly smaller sponsored insurance. Medicaid is an equally proportions of Hispanics and other groups important source of coverage for the low- (such as Asian-Americans) (table 1). income population, despite the state’s historically Although the southern part of the state is A product of strict eligibility rules. Under the Children’s largely rural, Illinois is more urbanized than “Assessing the Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid the country as a whole. About 85 percent of New Federalism,” eligibility will be expanded, covering thou- the state’s population live in urban areas, in an Urban Institute sands more children in the state. contrast to about 78 percent nationally. Program to Assess Changing Social Policies Highlights, IL Health, December 1998 Table 1 State Characteristics Illinois United States Sociodemographic Population (1994–95) (in thousands) 11,766 260,202 Percent under 18 (1994–95)a 27.3% 26.8% Percent 65+ (1994–95)a 11.7% 12.1% Percent Hispanic (1994–95)a 8.9% 10.7% Percent Non-Hispanic Black (1994–95)a 15.7% 12.5% Percent Non-Hispanic White (1994–95)a 72.5% 72.6% Percent Non-Hispanic Other (1994–95)a 2.8% 4.2% Percent Noncitizen Immigrant (1996)b 5.9% 6.4% Percent Nonmetropolitan (1994–95)a 15.1% 21.8% Population Growth (1995–96)c 0.5% 0.9% Economic Per Capita Income (1996)d $26,848 $24,426 Percent Change in Per Capita Personal Income (1995–96)d 4.9% 4.6% Percent Change in Personal Income (1995–96)d 5.4% 5.6% Employment Rate (1997)e, f 65.3% 63.8% Unemployment Rate (1997)e 4.7% 4.9% Percent below Poverty (1994)g 12.8% 14.3% Percent Children below Poverty (1994)g 20.8% 21.7% Health Vaccination Coverage of Children Ages 19–35 Months (1996)h, i 75.0% 77.0% Low Birth-Weight Births (<2,500 g) (1995)j 7.9% 7.3% Infant Mortality Rate (Deaths per 1,000 Live Births) (1996)k 8.1 7.2 Premature Death Rate (Years Lost per 1,000) (1995)l 49.3 46.7 Violent Crimes per 100,000 (1996)m 886.2 634.1 AIDS Cases Reported per 100,000 (1996)n 18.6 25.2 Political Governor’s Affiliation (1998)o R Party Control of Senate (Upper) (1997)p 28D-31R Party Control of House (Lower) (1997)p 60D-58R a. Two-year concatenated March Current Population Survey (CPS) files, 1995 and 1996. These files are edited using the Urban Institute’s TRIM2 microsimulation model. Excludes those in families with active military members. b. Three-year average of the CPS (March 1995–March 1997, where 1996 is the center year) edited by the Urban Institute to correct misreporting of citizenship. c. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1997 (117th edition). Washington, DC, 1997. 1995 population as of April 1. 1996 population as of July 1. d. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1998. NEW FEDERALISM: POLICIES HIGHLIGHTS OF STATE e. U.S. Department of Labor. State and Regional Unemployment, 1997 Annual Averages. USDL 98-78. Washington, DC, February 27, 1998. f. Employment rate is calculated using the civilian noninstitutionalized population 16 years of age and over. g. CPS three-year average (March 1994–March 1996, where 1994 is the center year) edited using the Urban Institute’s TRIM2 microsimulation model. h. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. “National Immunization Survey, 1996.” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 46 (29). Hyattsville, MD, July 25, 1997. i. 4:3:1:3 series: four or more doses of DTP/DT, three or more doses of poliovirus vaccine, one or more doses of any MCV, and three or more doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine. j. S.J. Ventura, J.A. Martin, S.C. Curtin, and T.J. Mathews. “Advance Report of Final Natality Statistics, 1995.” Monthly Vital Statistics Report 45 (11), supp. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 1997. k. National Center for Health Statistics. “Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths for June 1996.” Monthly Vital Statistics Report 45 (12). Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service, 1997. l. Rate was calculated using years of potential life lost from age 65 (National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death Mortality Tapes, 1995) as the numerator and population estimates (U.S. Bureau of the Census. ST-96-1. Estimates of the Population of States: Annual Time Series, July 1, 1990, to July 1, 1996) as the denominator. m.U.S. Department of Justice, FBI. Crime in the United States, 1996. September 28, 1997. n. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 8 (2), 1996. o. National Governors’ Association. The Governors, Political Affiliations, and Terms of Office, 1998. January 15, 1997. p. National Conference of State Legislatures. 1997 Partisan Composition, May 7 Update. D indicates Democrat and R indicates Republican. 2 Economic Indicators the vaccination rate among toddlers (19 nois. For fiscal year 1999, education Illinois residents, as a whole, have to 35 months in age) is slightly lower in funding will increase by $614 million above-average income compared with Illinois than nationwide (75.0 percent while Medicaid funding is expected the nation. Per capita income in Illinois versus 77.0 percent). to increase by only $251 million.3 was $26,848 in 1996, about 10 percent The premature death rate for all greater than the national average of age groups is somewhat worse in Illi- The Health Care Market $24,426. In addition, the employment nois than in the United States (49.3 rate in Illinois is higher than the nation- years of potential life lost before age 65 Movement toward managed care al average (65.3 percent versus 63.8 per 1,000 population versus 46.7). in the Illinois health care market has percent), while the unemployment rate Notably, the violent crime rate in Illi- occurred much less rapidly than in the is slightly lower than the national aver- nois is much higher than in the country nation as a whole. An estimated 17.4 age (4.7 percent versus 4.9 percent). as a whole. There were 886 violent percent of the state’s residents were In 1994, 12.8 percent of Illinois’s crimes per 100,000 people in Illinois in enrolled in health maintenance organi- population lived below the federal 1996, about 40 percent higher than the zations (HMOs) in 1996, slightly less poverty level (FPL), versus 14.3 per- national average. Finally, Illinois com- than three-fourths of the U.S. average cent for the U.S. population overall. pares favorably to the United States (24.0 percent). The gap is even more This gap is narrower for children liv- overall in its incidence of AIDS: 18.6 pronounced among publicly insured NEW FEDERALISM: POLICIES HIGHLIGHTS OF STATE ing in poverty, as 20.8 percent of chil- cases per 100,000 reported in 1996, residents. Only 7.0 percent of Medicare dren in Illinois lived below the FPL, compared with a national average of beneficiaries had joined risk-based compared with the national average of 25.2 cases per 100,000. HMOs in 1997, compared with 12.5 21.7 percent (table 1). percent nationwide. Moreover, only The economy of Illinois is primar- Politics and Budgetary Policy 13.7 percent of Medicaid enrollees ily dependent on manufacturing, min- Illinois is known as a “swing state” were in an HMO or primary care case ing, and transportation, with support in national elections, and the voters tend management (PCCM) program in from agriculture, tourism, and energy.