The Comprehensive Health Insurance Program, a state-funded plan to secure insurance for Illinois residents having difficulty obtaining coverage, is now accepting applications, said John Countryman (R-DeKalb), Wednesday.

Countryman estimated that around 500 DeKalb-area residents might benefit initially from the program, and possibly more on a long-term basis. Around 30 persons have already contacted his office for information, he noted.

Persons eligible for the program include those labeled as uninsurable by insurance companies, those whose rates exceed 135 percent of the average Illinois premium, and those with one of the conditions automatically qualifying them for the program, he said.

The average monthly insurance premium varies with age and condition. A full list of medical conditions qualifying one for automatic CHIP eligibility has not been released by the CHIP Board, Countryman said.

CHIP-subsidied rates are 35 percent higher than the Illinois average because “if (program participants) went out in the market they might find their premiums 200 percent of the average,” he said.

Countryman said the legislation creating CHIP passed in 1986 and was to be implemented in 1988. However, because of a lack of funding, including a 1988 veto of CHIP’s origianl budget by Gov. James Thompson, the start-up of the program was delayed.

Countryman said he supported the legislation and characterized opponents of the program as “fearful that people with AIDS would drain the state of funds.”

Margaret Parcells (R-Northfield), who opposed passage of the program in its current form, said she believed the plan would encounter financial difficulties in coming years. She said what she termed “Cadillac coverage at Ford prices” would deplete funding for the program and limit the number of persons able to use it.

Parcells said she had favored amending the program to include fewer mental health benefits and more stringent residency requirements. As passed, the program requires an applicant to have resided in Illinois for 30 days.

A few legislators had expressed concern that AIDS patients from other states might move to Illinois to participate in the program, but Parcells said her objections focused on the adequacy of the $4 million in the CHIP budget allotted for claims payment in fiscal year 1989.

The program would affect few NIU students because of the group insurance already offered to them, Countryman said. However, he noted that students who “fall through the cracks” might benefit from the CHIP plan.

The Mutual of Omaha insurance company has been selected as the insurer for program participants. The company estimates the program will begin in three months.