The Illinois House on Thursday voted 79-28 to approve the All Kids health insurance bill that would extend coverage to all uninsured children in the state, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports (Wills, AP/Chicago Tribune, 10/27). The state Senate on Wednesday voted 32-23 along party lines to pass the bill (Keith, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/27). Under the All Kids plan, parents of uninsured children would pay a monthly income-based premium that in most cases would cost less than private insurance. To fund the program, Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has proposed shifting 1.6 million beneficiaries enrolled in KidCare, FamilyCare and traditional Medicaid to a managed care system for an expected savings of $56 million during the first year. By the fifth year, Blagojevich said he anticipates enrollment of 204,000 children in All Kids at an annual cost of $96 million, in comparison with savings of $93 million from the shift to a managed care system in other state health care programs (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/24). The bill will now go to Blagojevich, who said he will sign it into law quickly. After the bill becomes law, the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services will determine the structure and implementation of All Kids through a rule-making process. Rules must be approved by a 12-member bipartisan panel of lawmakers and can be rejected if eight panel members. The health department also will be able to enact rules on an emergency basis and temporarily bypass the panel. The program is slated to begin July 1, 2006 (Massingale, Copley/Peoria Journal Star, 10/27).