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* Greg Hinz…
Rauner most recently has asked lawmakers either to give him his turnaround stuff—workers compensation and tort reform, limits on public-sector unions, etc.—or give him the authority to balance the budget by moving money around and cutting line items on his own. A pending bill from House GOP Leader Jim Durkin lays out the specifics, with a similar bill filed in the Senate by GOP Leader Christine Radogno. Needless to say, Democrats don’t trust Rauner to make the decisions himself.
On its face, that legislation looks like a liberal nightmare. Specifically, to pay for MAP grants and other college spending, it would effectively give Rauner unrestricted power to “limit, reduce or adjust services, payment rates, expenditures, transfers of funds and eligibility criteria, to the extent permitted by federal law” in five departments of particular importance to Democrats: Aging, Children and Family Services, Healthcare and Family Services, Human Services and Public Health.
In fact, administration officials say, all that clause would do is restore a level playing field between those departments and others, like Corrections and Transportation, where Rauner already has a free hand and has used it to make $500 million to $600 million in cuts.
Comparing corrections and transportation to human services, eh?
Lots of spending at DCFS, DHFS and DHS falls under judicial consent decrees, so it’s like comparing apples to chair legs.
* And a new study looks at the state’s inadequate reimbursement rates…
The findings from this analysis illustrate that reimbursement rates in the majority of service areas have failed to keep up with increased cost of living. The only human services field that has experienced regular rate increases is Child Care. The remainder of service rates has fallen behind cost of living. Table 1 and Figure 1 present a summary of rate increases compared to cost of living increases. Key findings include the following:
• The current rates for Substance Abuse Treatment (for Level I, II, and III, Adult Recovery Home, Case Management, Psychiatric/Diagnostic, Opioid Maintenance Therapy, and Early Intervention) would need to increase by 27% to adjust for cost of living increases that have occurred since 2000.
• Reimbursement rates for Comprehensive Care Coordination for older adults have generally not increased since 2000. These rates would need to be increased by 38% to adjust for cost of living.
• Early Intervention reimbursement rates have not increased since 2004. The rates would need to increase by 26% to adjust for cost of living.
• Foster Care reimbursement rates would need to increase by at least 25% to adjust for cost of living.
• Reimbursement rates for various Developmental Disabilities Services have not increased since 2008, and would need to increase by 13% to adjust for cost of living.
• Wages for developmental disabilities residential support staff have not increased since 2002. These wage rates would need to increase by 30% to adjust for cost of living.
• Community Mental Health Service rates have not increased since 2006. Based on 2005 rates, they would need an increase of 16% to adjust for cost of living.
Cut those rates and two things will probably happen: 1) Quality of care will decrease; and 2) Wages will be suppressed, so hiring decent people will be much more difficult, which will also likely hamper qualify of care.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 11:36 am
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Anyone who would give Rauner even more power hasn’t been paying attention. He hasn’t even used what power he currently has responsibly.
Comment by CharlieKratos Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 11:59 am
“In fact, administration officials say, all that clause would do is restore a level playing field between those departments and others, like Corrections and Transportation, where Rauner already has a free hand and has used it to make $500 million to $600 million in cuts.”
what where those cuts and how did those sectors fell the pain
Comment by 13th Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 12:08 pm
I would vote against any one who supported giving anyone this type of unilateral power, but most especially to someone who can not be trusted.
Comment by burbanite Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 12:20 pm
the child care workers toosed the union from negotiating for them…. so those rates may not stay up
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 12:50 pm
“Cut those rates and two things will probably happen: 1) Quality of care will decrease; and 2) Wages will be suppressed, so hiring decent people will be much more difficult, which will also likely hamper qualify of care. ”
Rich, do you really think Rauner cares about the quality of care?
Comment by Mama Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 12:53 pm
–Rauner most recently has asked lawmakers either to give him his turnaround stuff—workers compensation and tort reform, limits on public-sector unions, etc……–
Is it too much to ask the Illinois media to stop doing the yadda-yadda-yadda on the components of the Turnaround Agenda, as if they were innocuous or irrelevant to the conversation?
They’re actually the crux of the whole dispute.
Identifying the components and explaining their ramifications would be a welcome and helpful addition to actually informing the public as to what is going on.
In other words, enough with the lazy, uninformative shorthand and the focus on personalities.
Do your job and explain what the fight is all about.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 12:54 pm
Human Service providers have been bearing the brunt of budget cuts for the last eight years. Some of that is to be expected given the large percentage of GRF that goes to human services.
That being said, policy makers too often look at cuts to human services as being isolated to one specific program or service. When you consider that people with severe mental illness’ or substance will most likely end up in some form of tax payer funded place like jails or a state operated hospital (state operated hospitals only apply to MH clients as Illinois has never had state operated facilities that only serve those with substance abuse), it is a fallacy to think you are saving money by cutting rates or programs. You are in fact simply costs shifting where people are treated.
Human Service providers are suffering in ways no one thought possible, even those of us who were around during the Edgar budget cuts. Providers are serving clients without being paid, laying off staff and cutting service hours to their client and some have simply closed their doors.
Republicans need to ask themselves if this what they had in mind in the late 80s and early 90s when they assured everyone the private sector could serve MH and Substance Abuse clients cheaper and with better quality than the State could.
Comment by Give Me A Break Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 1:11 pm
It seems that Rauner will not be satisfied until social services are owned by international corporations and calls for help are handled by someone earning ten dollar a week at a phone banks in Mumbai.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 1:47 pm
In the 1980’s, Illinois was on the cutting edge of innovation and development of best practices in services to individuals with developmental disabilities. I used to be able to hire college graduates in my program.
Now, we have won the race to the bottom. We provide services with skeleton level crews. There are positions that by state regulation must be filled by individuals with college degrees. I don’t know where those people will come from, because they can’t afford to work for us and pay off student loans.
I’ve watched most of my life’s work taken apart in the last eight years. I’m glad I’m retiring in about five years. I wish I could retire sooner, because I dread seeing what things will be like for the next five years, let alone beyond.
Comment by Aldyth Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 2:02 pm
“…so hiring decent people will be much more difficult, which will also likely hamper quality of care.”
And this predictable result, loss of quality and decent workers, would then be followed by more court orders.
There is a connection between court orders and management and their work force.
Comment by cdog Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 2:06 pm
The less relevant facts that Hinz presents in his opinion pieces the more convincing becomes his argument to sway the uninformed.
Shoddy work.
Comment by Chicago 20 Tuesday, Feb 23, 16 @ 6:49 pm