24 Comments - Keep Calm and Carry On - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 2:22 pm: Looking forward to the bill backlog report that has us below $1 billion in arrears. If that day ever comes. - SaxMan - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 2:33 pm: And vouchers to pay health insurance claims now run about 40 weeks for the State’s open access plan. - wordslinger - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 2:53 pm: I’m sure Moody’s and S&P will issue a glowing report on the hard, painful progress that has been made in this area. - Ucster - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 2:58 pm: The 40 week delay on health insurance claims is in addition to the many weeks long processing delay. It’s taking >1 year for some claims. - Cornerfield - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 3:01 pm: It looks like the Comptroller’s office is paying the vouchers in a timely fashion. What is the average backlog time, though, for the agencies “sitting” on vouchers until they get authorized to submit them to the Comptroller? - walkinfool - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 3:10 pm: When everything is 30 or less, and we are counting the days correctly, then it won’t matter what the total amount is — that’s where any good company CFO would want to be. On a cash basis, as the state has been catching up in paying, many of the payees have been getting ahead of their own plans. So far so good. But as the one-time bumps in revenue are past, we could be falling behind again. - lakecounty - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 3:14 pm: SaxMan, how are health insurance claims different than a medical voucher? - Raising Kane - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 3:23 pm: lakecounty…..employee heath insurance is in what they call the HIRF, which is the health insurance reserve fund. It isn’t GRF it is a seperate fund and it is just about 2 Billion in the red. - Downstater - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 3:42 pm: What does this mean? - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:02 pm: ==What does this mean? == It doesn’t mean a whole lot given the time of year. It’s the end of the lapse period for FY13 so it shows they are almost caught up with FY13 bills. As for FY14, the year just started but it does show that they already are more than a month behind and it’s only the middle of August. - Tim Snooes - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:09 pm: Not bad compared to where we used to be. Of course, pretty soon the school districts, which received far higher approps than they should have because of the tax revenue windfall, will begin whining: “Where’s ours?” - SaxMan - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:15 pm: Don’t tell me the State is “almost caught up with FY’13 bills when I and many other retirees have to wait the better part of a year to get a doctor bill paid. - Anonymous - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:19 pm: Looks good now. But I think Topinka is on record that the backlog could reach $9 billion by the end of the year. - curmudgeon - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:19 pm: My dentist bill from early July 2012 was paid in late June 2013. - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:29 pm: ==Don’t tell me the State is “almost caught up with FY’13 bills when I and many other retirees have to wait the better part of a year to get a doctor bill paid. == I’m sorry that you had to wait but FY13 is almost over and all bills have to be paid within the next few weeks. It’s just a fact. So, yes, they are almost caught up. - Raising Kane - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:29 pm: yes, saxman and curmdgeon, the HIRF is about a year behind. Maybe that will ultimately get better when they start charging retirees for their health insurance. I think the money retirees are paying now is going in escrow until the courts rule on the kanerva (sp) lawsuit. But this years appropriation for the HIRF just keeps the backlog from getting worse, it doesnt really cut into it. - Raising Kane - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:31 pm: Nope, demoralized, the HIRF bills do not have to be paid in lapse period so they won’t be caught up. The backlog will continue to mean about a years wait. - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 4:41 pm: @Raising Kane: If it’s an FY13 bill it does, though now that I think about it I think they have until December to get those paid. - Realist - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 5:26 pm: Unless there have been some major changes, health insurance bills are being paid about one year behind. And have been for several years. I know because one of my providers makes me pay up front, and I wait to be reimbursed. And I can go online to my health insurance provider any time to see who has been paid. It’s been years and years since it’s been anywhere near caught up. I would be delighted if Illinois were truthfully caught up on her bills. But this is smoke and mirrors - well, your typical politics. - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 5:33 pm: @Realist: Health insurance operates in a different universe than what the Comptroller is referring to. They are referring to the “normal” bills of the state. They are caught up on those because they have to be, but it will start to get big again soon. And I’m pretty sure when they say “medical voucher” they are referring to Medicaid bills. - Buckshot - Monday, Aug 19, 13 @ 9:38 pm: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/menard-pinckneyville-big-muddy-among-five-prisons-on-lockdown/article_11991b70-08f5-11e3-97e8-001a4bcf887a.html Very nice havent seen this in my 26yr career….This administration is gonna get someone killed. - Anon - Tuesday, Aug 20, 13 @ 7:28 am: HIRF bills are still allowed to be delayed indefinitely under Section 25. - someone - Tuesday, Aug 20, 13 @ 9:57 am: So does that mean the HIRF is underfunded on puropose? Not going to speculate on why, but it seems that other bills are more important to pay such as suppliers, etc. - Realist - Tuesday, Aug 20, 13 @ 10:28 am: @Demoralized - It’s still smoke and mirrors intended to imply that Illinois is close to in the black - a blatant lie. @someone - I’ll speculate - we’re merely State employees and don’t count. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.