Rockford Sun

Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) says providing health insurance to otherwise ineligible noncitizens would provide an inducement for people to come to the country illegally for free healthcare funded by taxpayers.

"I'm very disappointed that the trust was lost in this and I would certainly urge on our side a no vote on this expansion when we told so many other groups that they couldn't get coverage and yet in turn we're going to expand this coverage for undocumented at the same time when other groups are being told no," Syverson said from the Senate floor. "So I'd urge a no on our side for multiple reasons."

House Bill 4343 passed largely along party lines, with a 71-42 vote in the House and a 33-17 vote in the Senate on April 9. It was sent to the governor on April 20. 

Even though Medicaid bills are usually worked out in a bipartisan "working group," HB4343 was strongly opposed by several Republicans mainly because of the language about noncitizens that had never been used in a public hearing. 

"We had a bipartisan group for the last three months, getting up at 7 o'clock in the morning for these meetings with the agreement that all Medicaid expansions and increases were going to be working through this group," Syverson said from the Senate floor, according to St. Louis Public Radio. "And then you turn around a couple hours after this agreement and you change the bill."

House Bill 4343 was sponsored by Democratic Reps. Greg Harris, Mary Flowers, Elizabeth Hernandez, Camille Lilly, Robyn Gabel, Bob Morgan, Delia Ramirez, Barbara Hernandez, Anna Moeller, Dagmara Avelar, Kathleen Willis, Margaret Croke, Terra Costa Howard, Maura Hirschauer, Janet Yang Rohr, Joyce Mason, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and Anne Stava-Murray in the House and Democratic Sens. Ann Gillespie, Mike Simmons, Jacqueline Collins, Sara Feigenholtz, Laura Fine, Karina Villa and Cristina Pacione-Zayes in the Senate.

House Bill 4343 amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code and allows the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to provide medical services to noncitizens who are 42 to 54 years old.