Governor halts health program enrollment

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has bowed to a court's instructions and stopped enrolling people in the expanded health care program he launched without legislative approval.

The 30,000 people enrolled in the expanded program will continue to be covered, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said Tuesday.

The Democratic governor tried to pass a major health care expansion last year, but lawmakers refused to go along. Blagojevich expanded his FamilyCare program anyway to cover people with higher incomes -- up to $83,000 a year for a family of four.

That led to a lawsuit, and a judge last month ordered Blagojevich to stop adding people.

In a memo dated April 22, the administration directed health care workers to stop enrolling adults who earn more than $13,832 annually, Gatehouse News Service reported Tuesday. Pregnant women may earn up to $20,800 and still qualify, the memo said.

The administration is appealing the judge's ruling, however.

"While those who intervened in the lawsuit ... are aiming to take coverage away from working parents in the expansion group, we have not removed anyone from the program," said department spokeswoman Annie Thompson.