* Tribune…

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed $1.47 billion in Medicaid cuts includes reductions in dental services, mental health care and other coverage. But some legislators and patient advocates say the targeted services don’t just help keep people healthy — they also save the state money. […]

“We found, for example, that if you cut people’s dental services and then they don’t go to a dentist, they end up going to an emergency room and it costs us more money,” Cullerton said. “So we went back and examined that and made a change.”

“People will not miraculously get better if they’re denied care for services,” said Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago. “They’ll just end up at a higher level of care in an acute care setting at the most expensive end of their disease.”

Other legislators responded that the added costs of emergency room services have not been well-documented.

“It’s theory,” said Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.

No, it’s not a theory. This does happen.

* From a 2012 New York Times story…

In a report this year, [the Pew Center on the States] estimated that preventable dental problems were the primary diagnosis in 830,590 emergency room visits in 2009 — up 16 percent from 2006.

“It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” said Shelly Gehshan, the director of the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign. “Rather than an $80 extraction or a $300 filling, states are spending much more on emergency room visits that can’t fix the problem.”

* Also, this…

(M)any Medicaid enrollees continue to live with the pain and discomfort of tooth decay and gum disease, which can exacerbate other health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Eventually, some go to costly emergency rooms, which can do little but provide short-term pain relief.

…Adding… More on this general topic from the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities group…

Governor Bruce Rauner’s $27 million cuts to drug treatment services undermine the very criminal justice reforms that he has been publicly championing.

Criminal justice reforms and cost savings simply cannot happen without drug treatment and coordinated case management upon which Illinois courts rely.

Last year alone, working with judges and community-based treatment providers, TASC diverted 2,080 people from prison and immediately saved Illinois $35 million. Under the governor’s proposed budget for next year, millions of those savings would be wiped out.