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* From WLS Radio…
Governor Pat Quinn plans to reveal recommendations for reforming Medicaid Wednesday, and it could contain some bitter medicine. A bi-partisan working group of lawmakers has been trying to find ways to cut $2.7 billion from the health care system for low-income individuals and families. Among the proposals under consideration are eliminating some benefits like chiropractor visits, and putting limits on things like glasses, dentures and even adult diapers.
Also being considered is dropping some people from coverage and cutting help for seniors in paying for prescriptions. Governor Quinn says something has to be done in this legislative session. He said, “Members of the legislature should be prepared to cancel their vacations in order to get this mission accomplished.”
As an alternative to some of those cuts, and to reducing reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals, Quinn’s office has floated the idea of a new one-dollar-a-pack tax on cigarettes. The cigarette tax, though, is meeting resistance.
The governor threatened to call a summer session to deal with Medicaid during his budget address, and I don’t think he’s being too unreasonable, either (even though I’m really hoping to attend all three White Sox vs. Cardinals games in June). They can kick the pension can down the road until January, when the GA can use its huge pile of lame ducks to pad the roll calls. But a Medicaid fix really should be done this spring. Reducing the program’s costs and finding new funding for a total of $2.7 billion is gonna be horrific, but it’ll be a whole lot easier than doing it half way through the fiscal year.
* But whatever the governor proposes, he won’t have the last word…
State Rep. Patti Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican that’s part of the team of lawmakers trying to come up with Medicaid fixes, says it’s important to remember that Quinn’s proposals for fixes to both the Illinois Medicaid and pensions systems shouldn’t be considered final.
After all, she says, look at the budget Quinn proposed earlier this year. He puts out an outline. Then lawmakers do their own thing, tweaking - or overhauling - from there.
“I don’t think anything will be set in stone until May 31,” Bellock told us today.
That’s lawmakers’ budget deadline, and some skeptics wonder if even that’s too ambitious a date for such major changes in state policy.
*** UPDATE *** The task force won’t give up, but won’t make the deadine…
A bipartisan group tasked with finding ways to cut $2.7 billion from Illinois’ Medicaid budget hasn’t accomplished its mission.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s deadline required the two Democrats and two Republicans to come up with a plan this week, but they’ve only agreed on about $1.4 billion in cuts.
The committee worked for months on ways to reform the health insurance program for nearly 3 million poor and disabled Illinoisans. But they disagreed on potential ideas including rate cuts to providers and a potential $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 10:53 am
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Didn’t Madigan say after the budget speech that Springfield was nice in the summer?
Comment by Small Town Liberal Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:01 am
Pat Quinn wants seniors to pee their pants.
And here we are protesting the governor of Wisconsin.
Sheesh.
Comment by Not to be believed Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:04 am
Provider rate cuts, especially if you take care of the disabled and mentally ill, would be a fitting insult to an industry that has carried large portions of Illinois debt since 2008.
Comment by Waffle Fries Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:06 am
it is so typical of quinn to threaten summer session BEFORE he even lays out his proposals. that is admitting defeat before he gets started.
a couple proposals: allow brand name drug prescriptions only after suitable generics have been tried, impose stricter scrutiny as the number of prescriptions per month goes up.
Comment by langhorne Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:07 am
Medicaid and probably the whole budget won’t be approved without putting almost all the Republicans on the bill(s). No way Cross and Radongo’s members are getting a pass on this nightmare vote. One easy way to ensure the pain and blame is bipartisan is to let this go into the summer.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:09 am
lawmakers has been trying to find ways to cut $2.7 billion from the health care system for low-income individuals and families
Instead of thinking about what services should or should not be given, why not remove all the people who once were eligible and are
Not today. There is nothing wrong with checking. Trust me they could be saving Millions! But nobody even checks.
Comment by Just Because Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:10 am
= Didn’t Madigan say after the budget speech that Springfield was nice in the summer? =
Yes he did. Is it really a threat if this is likely part of the plan?
Comment by Dirty Red Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:37 am
It would be refreshing to make the lawmakers stay in Springfield until they get the job done.
To focus their interest, I would propose a daily shrinkage to their per diems when they are late in producing their results.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:42 am
===I would propose a daily shrinkage to their per diems ===
No per diem during overtime.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:43 am
The focus shift from gov employee pensions to medicaid appears to involve a priority on increasing suffering on seniors and the poor to free up dollars for the pensions.
Comment by Cook County Commoner Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:47 am
===Trust me they could be saving Millions! ===
I don’t doubt it. Unfortunately, there’s a $2.7 billion problem.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 11:47 am
I totaly agree with no per diem,these part timers
may just do something if it’s cost’s them some money.
Comment by mokenavince Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 12:05 pm
CCC,
Pensioners ARE seniors and a lot of them are poor. Most of them do not qualify for social security. The priority should be to tax people who can afford it to provide for those who need it.
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 1:24 pm
Overtime would play into Democrats’ hands by forcing Tom Cross and Christine Radogno to sign off on the budget and put Republican votes on it, while relieving Madigan and Cullerton of putting targeted votes on what is sure to be an unpleasant budget.
In the end, no matter WHAT the GOP demanded over the summer, they’d be forced to support the final package.
Would make for an interesting summer.
Rich, I’ll happily relieve you of your baseball tickets. Or, in keeping with your birthday party theme, you could raffle them off for charity. Maybe the Sox and Cubs would kick in some additional tickets and autographed memorabilia?
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 1:28 pm
Regarding the Medicaid reform impasse, Democrats should reject any “solution” that cuts eligibility or services if Republicans are unwilling to support cuts to reimbursement rates for hospitals, doctors and nursing homes.
Any “solution” that only demands sacrifices from sick patients is absurdly unjust.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 1:30 pm
===, I’ll happily relieve you of your baseball tickets===
You’re so sweet.
The answer is “No.”
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 1:31 pm
Providers are not the problem with the program. There are more people on the program than the state can afford. Raise more taxes or reduce the number of people on the program. It’s one or the other.
Comment by Old Milwaukee Wednesday, Apr 18, 12 @ 6:43 pm
Comparing changes in coverage from 1997-1998 and 2008-2009, 11% of children in the lowest income quartile, who were uninsured, gained insurance; however, 13% of children in that quartile who had private insurance lost it, while Medicaid/CHIP expanded by 23% of children.
In the third-lowest and second-lowest quartiles, the proportion of those gaining Medicaid coverage and those losing private coverage were almost identical, suggesting that Medicaid was replacing private coverage in the majority of cases.
Those individuals who are subject to the replacement will have poorer access to health care, because Medicaid pays less than private insurance.
Put more simply, health insurance is not the same thing as health care (http://bit.ly/HdAr4B).
President Obama’s national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law, says the Washington Examiner.
Comment by Carly EngageAmerica Friday, Apr 20, 12 @ 1:29 pm