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Sun-Times reports that Chicago is sitting on a $700 million surplus as state costs grow again for health insurance coverage of undocumented residents

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At a joint City Council committee hearing last week, alderpersons were told Chicago is out of money, space and time to handle the “humanitarian crisis” caused by asylum-seekers descending on Chicago, with 40,000 people waiting at the border and a surge that has yet to peak. […]

With “zero dollars” from the federal government for 2023 costs and a $53 million shortfall to meet the [migrant] surge through June, [City of Chicago] Budget Director Susie Park said the Council will soon be asked to approve a “mid-year budget amendment” that applies portions of a nearly $700 million surplus to plug the gap.

Also…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said since August, the state has provided $240 million for arriving migrants being transported from places like Texas.

* But, wait, there’s more…

Matthew Doughtie, manager of emergency management services for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, told alderpersons 13 options have been identified as additional shelter locations, “none of them great. … Each of them comes at a cost, be they financial personal or political cost. But, they’re options nonetheless.”

According to the Tribune, the city closed twelve (12) migrant shelters after standing them up last year. The city can’t reopen them?

* Meanwhile, the state’s estimated costs have grown yet again for a DHFS program to a pretty scarily high number. From Capitol News Illinois…

The estimated cost for Illinois to continue providing health care coverage to noncitizens who are otherwise ineligible for Medicaid benefits has been revised upward to $1.1 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.

As of the end of March, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services estimated it would cost $990 million to fund the program that provides state-funded health care to individuals age 42 and older who would otherwise qualify for Medicaid if not for their citizenship status.

The new estimate, shared by IDHFS Director Theresa Eagleson in testimony to a Senate appropriations committee Wednesday night, is now $880 million beyond the $220 million estimate included in Gov. JB Pritzker’s February budget proposal. […]

IDHFS chief of staff Ben Winick told the committee that the original estimate relied on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data to estimate the eligible population, then assumed a certain percentage would enroll. But both the cost of providing care and the number of enrollees have far outpaced estimates.

Obviously, they really need to find a way to get a handle on those costs. It’s starting to remind me of how the Edgar administration was overrun by Medicaid costs in the 1990s.

By the way, there it is again. The ACS always undercounts Illinois.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 5, 23 @ 9:58 am

Comments

Obviously the General Assembly needs to figure out a way to rein in the costs for a program they inserted into the budget with no numbers and no information. I don’t love HFS, but this isn’t on them. They’re just the messenger. This wasn’t their program.

Comment by Gee Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:07 am
Everywhere I look these days all I see are reminders of how horrific and awful our for profit/private healthcare model is compared to European nations.

Comment by Candy Dogood Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:09 am
Who has a $700 million surplus, the city of Chicago, or the State of Illinois?

Comment by DuPage Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:10 am
Is that $700M surplus (restricted) Federal Covid aid or general fund.

Now excuse me while I go write some letters asking why multiple tax hikes are on the table at City Hall while they’re sitting on $700M large.

Comment by ChicagoBars Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:13 am
I believe the new estimate is based on the current fee for service program with no co-pays. Seems they are inflating the cost without applying any cost saving measures. Why is HFS operating this as a fee-for-service program? Has HFS asked the MCOs if they’ll provide healthcare to this population? Has HFS proposed changes to the program to require co-pays or in-network providers?

Comment by MOF Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:13 am
== I don’t love HFS, but this isn’t on them. They’re just the messenger. This wasn’t their program. ===

You’re wrong. This is their program. They were given wide range to decide how the programs looks and they set it up this way.

Comment by MOF Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:14 am
===Who has a $700 million surplus===

Can you not read?

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:14 am
MOF, the department was told to give health insurance to these people, and the department gave health insurance to them. What, you’re blaming the department for NOT doing everything possible to undermine and sabotage the legislation?

Comment by Perrid Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:22 am
Don’t know what HFS is to blame for on costs this time around. As CapFax ably reported late last month a top health care cost consulting company, Milliman, just blew the adoption and cost projections for the program by a very expensive mile when they analyzed them before program was created. https://capitolfax.com/2023/04/26/todays-must-read-56/

Comment by ChicagoBars Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:26 am
DuPage looks to be a contender for worst comment of the year.

Comment by Chicago Republican Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:36 am
Sounds to me that DHFS made the best estimate they could based on the data they had. That doesn’t fix it but I agree it wasn’t their fault. No idea how you fix a number that is that out of whack to what was put in a budget that the Governor has said cannot be more than he has proposed (or at least needs to be in the ballpark). And, aside from other groups demanding more money this budget doesn’t even have any funding in it yet for whatever raises the state decides to give to the union. Something would have to give elsewhere

Comment by Demoralized Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:37 am
===Is that $700M surplus (restricted) ===

Well, if it was truly restricted, they likely wouldn’t be able to dip into it for this migrant purpose.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 5, 23 @ 10:41 am
Between this story and one yesterday about drivers licenses, perhaps there is a solution. If we allow noncitizen residents of Illinois (not all of whom are undocumented/illegal), then perhaps these residents can pursue jobs that pay better, and allow them to purchase part of the costs of their healthcare.

Defining and then treating noncitizen residents as “illegal” is a contributing factor to many of the problems we face in terms of welfare, housing, food, healthcare, etc. expenditures.

Comment by H-W Friday, May 5, 23 @ 11:29 am
===DuPage looks to be a contender for worst comment of the year. ===

Oh, I think I locked that up yesterday, right?

Comment by H-W Friday, May 5, 23 @ 11:55 am
===Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley, raised concerns over the fact that no other states offer the same level of health care coverage for noncitizens as Illinois. That, he said, could result in ever-increasing enrollment and upward adjustments to cost estimates.===

The balanced state budget is out the window for the foreseeable future, unless the feds step up to their responsibility for this crisis. I hope they will, but it looks unlikely.

Comment by DuPage Friday, May 5, 23 @ 12:40 pm
I should have said above, if we allow noncitizen residents of Illinois (not all of whom are undocumented/illegal) to receive licenses to drive, then perhaps these residents can pursue jobs that pay better, and allow them to purchase part of the costs of their healthcare.

Comment by H-W Friday, May 5, 23 @ 3:36 pm