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Heartbreaker

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Usually when we see stories about the state’s huge Medicaid payment backlog, they’re written like this one.

The state’s problem reimbursing hospitals, pharmacies and nursing homes is causing concern in the medical community.

While late Medicaid payments are nothing new, groups like the Illinois Hospital Association say medical professionals are feeling the sting.

But Jim Muir gives us a different kind of Medicaid story.

The decision by Illinois lawmakers to forgo paying billions of dollars in Medicaid payments has turned into a harsh reality for a Marion couple, who this week were denied medical care for their daughter because of those unpaid bills.

Matthew and Lisa McGlinn are the parents of 4-year-old Riana, a special needs child who in her short life has had three heart surgeries, eye surgery and also has battled kidney disease. The McGlinns both work full-time and Riana has received medical care through the state’s Kids Care Program, and is now enrolled in the All Kids Program. The programs are state-funded based on the income of the parents.

Riana was born six weeks premature and has been treated since birth, including the surgeries and all follow-up visits, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

That is, until this past week.

Go read the whole thing. Shame on this state.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 4:58 am

Comments

In the Sothern article, the HFS spokesperson is either misinformed or she’s lying. Either way she’s wrong about the numbers and the comparison to the previous administration.

The Medicaid payment cycle issue has severely hampered access to care for several years and this makes it very hard to find medical providers who want to take on new clients or continue to care for existing clients. Unfortunately, there’s no disclaimer on the All Kids acceptance letter that would tell parents that actually finding someone to care for their child will be next to impossible.

Comment by Check the numbers Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:03 am
So, I’m being driven around by my security detail, adn you know, I like to roll th windows down so I can see what a city that’s not Chicago looks like, and this little crippled girl sees me in the car, and says, “look: it’s….. that lying shmuck that just took five million dollars to spend on a campaign stunt ‘for the children’ but won’t pay my doctor’s bill.”

My prayers go to Riana and her family. Thanks to the reporting and the shame and scandal, and public attention in an election year, no doubt the money will suddenly somehow be found to pay her bills.

Unfortunately, we can’t write a similar article for every kid and family that was promised care thru AllBills and is not going to get it due to medicaid backlogs.

Keep up the greeeaaat work, Rod, “for the children”. They are as you say, ‘our greatest resource’

-for biological material to heal us adult voters and to be used as photographic props.

Comment by Gregor Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:13 am
Paying Medicaid bills is always the last item on this Administration’s agenda. Too bad Vladgo doesn’t feel it’s important to his reelection; if it were, he’d illegally take it out of the education budget and pay it immediately. Yeah, this phoney cares about poor children, and he also doesn’t mousse his hair. C’mon, sheep, reelect the phoney incompentent who last election didn’t understand one single issue, yet just kept responding “I care about people” to every debate question to deflect his ignorance. Even the press said he “won” when he obviously didn’t have a clue. Ok, now it’s time for the press to unequivically show the electorate that Rod cares only about his rockabilly hairdo.

Comment by Snidely Whiplash Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:21 am
Topina needs to make sure that voters feel the pain that the McGlinns and others feel. It could be anyone’s children or grandchildren next.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:46 am
I will wholeheartedly support the governor’s plan to raise the income tax during his second term in order to help those like little Riana.

Comment by Pete Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:47 am
Good find Rich. It’s a shame that people like Riana have to suffer for this administration’s ineptitude. Props to Snidely Whiplash…Vladgo!!

Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 8:24 am
[…] (Hat tip: Capitol Fax) […]

Pingback by IlliniPundit.com » Blog Archive » Democrats Deadbeat State Government Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 9:29 am
Things will really hit the fan when more realize that AllKids is the Medicaid program and that they are paying premiums to be included.

Comment by Ben Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 9:39 am
Riana and her family find hardship when the state does not get the bills paid. There is also those that work in the institutions that are not being paid. I’m thinking particularly of the thousands of low wage nursing home staff that have to take a pay cut until the institution is paid by the government. The back log of medicaid payments effect the over all economy and many many lives.

Comment by AJ Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 9:42 am
Many more of these stories will be coming. Unfortunately, this child’s care seems very expensive (premie and 3 heart surgeries), but the physicians cost to provide that service is also expensive (liability, office, equipment). Rubber is hitting the road. It is easy to propose programs that sound great on camera. Seems paying for the program is much harder. AllKids just started and people will soon realize it is simply Medicaid in a slightly different coat with all the associated payments problems. Sad story.

Comment by zatoichi Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 11:42 am
zatoichi —

Interesting point. Perhaps to lower medicaid and Medicare costs, the patient might forbear punitive damages (but not compensatory.)

Macchiavelli would have a field day with this — but the next governor will have to raise income taxes or put a penny on the property taxes — which makes it the last term that governor will have. JudyB coulsd be a good fall girl

Comment by Truthful James Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 12:09 pm
THE MONIES FOR THE STEM CELL RESEARCH CAME FROM THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE AND FAMILY SERVICES (MEDICARE) BUDGET.

SO HOW COULD THIS BE IF THERE WAS 5 MILLION SITTING AROUND?

I had to comment on this one!

Comment by One Man Can Make A Difference Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 12:22 pm
Shame on the State of Illinois, and the citizens that elected the Governor and Legislators allowing them to treat any human in this fashion. It is time to vote them all out of office and the good citizens of Illinois take back our governmnet.

Comment by It's 5 O'clock somewhere Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 2:05 pm
The Goobernur made a big production of replacing that poor boy’s $15,000 artificial leg - why isn’t he coming forward to take care of Riana’s medical bills? As a mother myself, I could not imagine what Riana’s parents are feeling.

Comment by Anon. Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 3:02 pm
Just a clarification to Truthful James, punitive damages in medical malpractice cases were abolished in 1985 (and found constitutional in 1986 by the IL Supreme Court). I believe you meant to say noneconomic damages.

Regardless, the payment issue is a huge issue right now for medical professionals. Now you’re going to see how it impacts patients.

If the governor wants to help low income children receive healthcare, he needs to make medical professionals believe they’re going to get paid for seeing these patients. AllKids, and Medicaid in its former life, relies on a network of health care workers willing to see patients funded by the state. Since they haven’t been getting paid regularly, they certainly won’t see more public aid patients.

He needed to build the network first by improving the Medicaid payment cycle first. Instead, he rushed to get something out there during an election year, everyone (at least the Dems) supported it with literally zero details on the program before they voted for it.

Surprise surprise, governing by press release and putting the cart before the horse didn’t work again.

Comment by Wildcat Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 4:32 pm
“According to Hynes the real black and white numbers show the state finished the year with a budget deficit of $3.06 billion.” These unpaid Medicaid bills are costing the state $30 million a month in interest. (Prompt Payment Interest rules state 1% per month).

Comment by anon Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 5:45 pm
Check the numbers,

Who gives a royal crap if the numbers are completly accurate or not? The MAJOR BIG HAIRBALL of the point is that this administration isn’t paying its bills to medical providers. Period. GOT IT? There is no excuse for this. End of story. Maybe if Blagozo had been doing as he *proposes*, anything at all, instead of his bleating about his weekly Sunday populist press releases the state would have payed some of its medical bills. But no. This jerk is trying to balance the budget on the back of all Illinois citizens. As a result, medical providers haven’t been paid for almost a year and they won’t accept anymore “new” patients because they don’t want or need additional debt. And to think that this idiot will probably get another term. That speaks volumes about the intellegence of the voters of this state.

Comment by Buck Flagojevich Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:13 pm
P-A-T-I-E-N-T A-B-A-N-D-O-N-M-E-N-T.

Good bye!

Comment by Ouija Board Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 7:51 pm
ouija board @ 7:51. Gee, did you think up that witty retort all by yourself. I guess by your logic it was patient abandonment when my wife had to sell her family practice clinic because the state owed us over $200,000, and the year before my wife did not take a paycheck for over 5 consecutive months just so we could meet payroll, pay our suppliers, pay the $60,000 insurance bills, and pay rent. She joined a large physician group 15 miles away, and some of her patients weren’t able to follow her. Be glib and proud and keep your head in the sand all you want; this is a problem that’s been building at an alarming rate for the last 4+ years (moreso over the last 2-3 when you figure in not just the backlog at the end of the year, but how long it takes to get paid, sometimes as much as 200 days in our case). The fact of the matter is that this incompetent governor has created a situation wherein health care providers are having to seriously make the choice of p-a-t-i-e-n-t a-b-a-n-d-o-n-m-e-n-t or c-l-o-s-i-n-g t-h-e-i-r d-o-o-r-s to everyone (including you).

Comment by schroedk Monday, Jul 24, 06 @ 8:57 pm
Allkidsparentsklingonsandpets, or as we more familiarly know it Illinois medicare, is, like the pensions, a ticking financial time bomb and the timer is running. Blago hopes to be well out of range when it goes off, but he’s forgotten he chained himself to it. if it was just him I’d say let it happen. The bad part is how many good and innocent citizens of Illinois he’s going to hurt in the process. We have to cut the red wire. The one thru which he’s stealing all this money.

Comment by Gregor Tuesday, Jul 25, 06 @ 12:55 am
I have cancer and can not get any help because I have no inc. or any way to pay for my medical

Comment by purplerosesangle Friday, Jan 5, 07 @ 1:24 pm