* US Sen. Dick Durbin pointed out some sobering Medicaid statistics this past weekend…

“One-third of all children in Illinois, their only health insurance is Medicaid,” Durbin said. “Over half of all births in Illinois are paid by Medicaid. And 60 percent of the Medicaid budget goes to the frail, elderly who are broke and living in nursing homes on Medicare, Medicaid and whatever they can scrape together on Social Security.

“When you start talking about cutting Medicaid, those are the three vulnerable populations.”

* DHFS numbers for Medicaid enrollment by fiscal year...

2000 – 1,365,070

2001 – 1,461,754

2002 – 1,535,648

2003 – 1,596,482

2004 – 1,750,335

2005 – 1,896,234

2006 – 2,021,314

2007 – 2,150,519

2008 – 2,304,291

2009 – 2,433,625

2010 – 2,590,945

2011 – 2,704,791

The recession has played a big role in the increase, but a doubling of the rolls without corresponding revenue growth to pay for it is a very real problem.

Illinois has one of the lowest costs per Medicaid patient in the country. Its provider reimbursement rates are also quite low - and if they go much lower patients will have trouble finding care. Eliminating programs and kicking people off health care is the “best” option, but as Durbin rightly points out, it’s an extremely harsh option.