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Report: One in three hospitals are in the red

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Illinois

* The bad news just never ends…

Medicaid payment delays of up to six months are causing fits for supportive living centers throughout Illinois, and some owners are worried they may have to close if the situation doesn’t improve soon. […]

The delay followed the end of the economic stimulus program, which sent more than $3 billion in additional federal Medicaid funds to Illinois over a 27-month period and required the state to pay Medicaid providers promptly. […]

One of every three Illinois hospitals is operating in the red, and officials at many of those hospitals say Medicaid delays add to their financial burden. […]

Nursing home industry spokeswoman Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois, said a notice from state officials Friday indicates many nursing homes may receive checks in January for services rendered to Medicaid patients in July.

That’s good news, Comstock said, but there’s no guarantee that monthly checks — even for services provided six months earlier — will be sent in February and beyond. Nursing homes are owed a total of $800 million in Medicaid payments, she said.

Oy.

* Meanwhile, the House Speaker won’t even sign off on what a lot of people believe is a no-brainer budget cut…

Illinois does have a chance to consolidate two elective statewide offices that are occupied by incumbents who thoroughly support the idea. Springfield should seize the moment.

The offices are those of state comptroller and state treasurer. The central responsibilities of those offices — investing the state’s money and paying the bills — could easily be managed by just one.

The incumbents, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and Treasurer Dan Rutherford, say merging the offices could save $12 million a year by eliminating duplication. Topinka has held both jobs.

Earlier this year, legislation that would have paved the way for the merger was introduced in Springfield. It would have put the question to voters in a 2012 referendum. If the referendum passed, it would have created the new consolidated office of comptroller of the treasury starting in 2014. The legislation breezed through the Senate, but was blocked in the House by Speaker Michael Madigan.

The two separate offices were created by the 1970 Illinois Constitution in reaction to a 1950s scandal uncovered by the Chicago Daily News in which state Auditor Orville Hodge embezzled $6.15 million by altering and forging checks.

A spokesman said Madigan, a Democrat, believes the division of the offices, in which the treasurer invests the money and the comptroller writes the checks, remains a necessary precaution. Cynics might suggest that Madigan’s record indicates the only consolidation of power he’s ever shown interest in is his own.

Tax hikes, tollway rate increases, etc., etc. The Democrats had better start making some high profile budget cuts this year or they are gonna pay dearly come November.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 9:41 am

Comments

I hope that the Speaker will come around on the Comptroller / Treasurer thing. Seems like a real easy thing to do and I’m sure it polls well with the public too.

We have been unable to eliminate township governments, unable to consolidate school districts in most places and simply have too many layers of government. But this is in his hands - it seems like a high profile way for the state to save money.

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 9:55 am
Two Republicans hold the offices considered for merging…this is part of the problem, even though
the incumbents are in favor of the idea. Unfortunately, I think it would be problematic for the Speaker if the office holders were both from his party as well.
IMO we’ll have to wait until after the November elections to see what happens here…

Comment by Borealis Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:14 am
The Dems have few worries the new map has stacked the deck. 8 years of complete incompetance and it won’t matter in Nov that’s what passes for democracy in Illinois.

Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:15 am
The DOR collects, the Treasurer invests, the Comptroller disburses, the Auditor General audits and the GA, hopefully, provides oversight.

Given state government’s long history of monkey business, the more checks and balances (no pun intended) the better. Merging the offices sounds good, but the savings are chump change in the great scheme of things.

If we want to make some real money, why not sell Cominskey Park? Reinsdorf might buy it just because he can’t count on his new landlord being such a pushover.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:18 am
Yet there were millions upon millions of dollars for a train that no one rides and (fill in assorted new things here) over the past years
Just think…we haven’t even gotten to the pension funding mess yet

Comment by Seeker Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:20 am
Cutting is much harder than pandering. It is laughable to assert that the legislature will do something hard after the election when they did not want to do it before.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:21 am
Merging the two offices won’t save $12 million, absolutely not. Pipe dream.

Also, the fraud issue is pretty real. A few years ago a woman went to jail for stealing a bunch of money. The idea that technology can provide the checks and balances isn’t true yet. The technology exists but the state can’t afford that. Most of state government runs on computers that were state of the art back when Pac-Man was big. Still need the checks and balances until the state can catch up with the times, and that means spending money on a massive technology upgrade. That luxury is a long ways off.

Comment by The Captain Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:41 am
People are surprised that a politician would want to protect a political office even though the incumbents are in favor of eliminating said office?

Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 10:44 am
Remember: the reason these offices were divided in the first place was to attack and prevent corruption in Illinois government. This consolidation would be a simple-minded political move, with $2-3M in savings max, as estimated a couple of years ago when the resolution for amendment was before the House. And it comes with substantial risk.

Did Illinois government suddenly become so clean that corruption is no longer a primary concern?

I’d love to hear Bill Holland’s take on this, provided he feels able to take a position. Perhaps there are effective ways to minimize the inherent risk.

Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 11:06 am
I dont think that merging the two office have to remove all of the checks and balances to prevent corruption. There are still other checks and balance that exist and new ones that can be built into the system.

Comment by RMWStanford Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 11:21 am
I am with wordslinger, although I have “waffled” a few times now on consolidation. As we read about all the attempts to get George OUT of prison, and all the attempts by Blago to stay OUT of prison, I am not so sure one more “check and balance” at the cost of $12 million is all THAT bad. If the two office holders are all about saving the cash, reduce your staffs to what could be the number if the offices were consolidated (support staff could be an area that is “heavy”…) then when its bare bones in both offices than break down a cost.

I will not hold my breath.

On the other hand, MJM not wanting to do this, or at the moment delaying it, can cause some fodder by the right messenger. It sounds as though the current office holders are not getting the traction on the street needed for a groundswell.

Who do you get to get this fodder some play? Dillard? Bill Brady? Murphy? Right now the ILGOP has no “go-to” standard-bearer that has the “juice” to get a response from the public.

just sayin’

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 11:30 am
I’m with Walkinfool in wanting to hear Bill Holland’s thoughts on the office merger.

As to fraud I think the greatest risk lies within the Agencies submitting bogus vouchers.

Comment by JustMe_JMO Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 12:31 pm
I know, we could call the new office Auditor of Public Accounts! Where is Orville anyway?

“Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”

Comment by Bigtwich Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 2:10 pm
“the democrats better start making some high profile cuts or”

I don’t really think at this point the public cares whether the democrats step up and pretend to act like adults. At this point they are either going to keep their position in the legislature because of Republican campaign incompetence (highly likely) or they are going to clean house and throw these bums out.

Also nice of the chicago tribune today to pick up on your rutherford needs to take his job seriously post of 6 weeks ago.

Comment by Shore Tuesday, Jan 3, 12 @ 2:27 pm