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A study, conducted by the Lewin Group
consulting firm and authorized by the Commission on Government
Forecasting and Accountability, reached the conclusion that hundreds
of millions of dollars in annual savings could be achieved by
shifting more Medicaid patients into managed care programs. Most
employees who receive health insurance benefits through their
employment are enrolled in managed care plans.
Moving Medicaid patients into managed
care plans is something Senate Republicans have long advocated.
Implementing meaningful Medicaid reforms will help offset the rising
costs of the program and ultimately will give patients access to
better health care. The Lewin study suggested managed care reforms
could save taxpayers about $1.5 billion in Medicaid costs over a
five-year period. The current budget hole is estimated to be as high
as $2 billion, and much of that cost is related to Medicaid, which
has grown an average of 9 percent each year for the last five years.
Only about 10 percent of Medicaid patients currently participate in
a managed care plan.
Bomke also said managed care reform
would yield better coverage for Medicaid recipients by matching them
to a primary care provider as their "medical home." Right now, many
Medicaid patients struggle to find health care providers who honor
the Medicaid program. Enrolling more patients in managed care would
give them a greater degree of predictability with what medical
providers are available to them.
In other news, a bipartisan group of
lawmakers from both legislative chambers called for significant
revisions in the way allegations of wrongdoing by state employees
are handled in Illinois.
Currently, the law allows complaints
filed with the inspector general to be dismissed without those
allegations and the reasons for them being made public. In cases
where discipline is warranted, the underlying charge and the
punishment are also not made public. But several lawmakers want the
inspector general's final rulings to be subject to review by the
Ethics Commission. Under these proposals, the final decisions by
both the inspector general and the commission would be made public.
The proponents believe more people would be willing to file
complaints if there was a clear review process in place, and it
would also reduce the number of false charges because the
information would be made public. These proposals would additionally
allow individuals falsely accused to clear their names.
Finally, the Illinois Department of
Transportation unveiled its proposed six-year $9.15 billion road
program. About $1.7 billion of that total is for the fiscal 2006
program. Approximately 68 percent of the state program is allocated
for roadway system and bridge maintenance. Senate Republicans are
pleased that there appears to be less money being diverted from the
Road Fund, but they believe the current proposal does not adequately
meet the transportation needs of the state.
The following bills were passed by
Senate committees during the week of May 2-6:
Sex offenders (HB 3451) -- Requires
each school district or regional superintendent to check the
Statewide Sex Offender Database to determine if an applicant for
employment with a school district is identified in the database as a
sex offender. (HB 121) -- Provides that convicted sex offenders --
as a condition of their probation, conditional discharge, parole or
mandatory supervised release -- cannot participate in a holiday
event involving children younger than 18, such as wearing a Santa
Claus costume.
Economic development (HB 690) --
Creates the Eastern Illinois Economic Development Authority. (HB
1569) -- Creates a new Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity accreditation program to assist manufacturers.
Crohn's disease (HB 834) -- Compels
businesses to allow customers with Crohn's disease and various other
diseases to use employee restrooms if public restrooms aren't
accessible.
Income tax checkoff (HB 18) --
Creates an income tax checkoff for autism. (HB 1581) -- Creates an
income tax checkoff for diabetes.
Veterans' tax benefits (HB 551) --
Provides active duty guardsmen and reservists an extended
interest-free grace period for paying their property taxes.
[to top of second column in this article] |
Born alive (HB 984) -- Provides that a
child who is born alive -- even in an attempted abortion -- is
defined as a "person," "human being," "child" and "individual." Once
the child is born, health care workers must provide health care for
that child regardless of the circumstances surrounding the birth.
Ultrasounds (HB 2492) -- Requires a
person administering an ultrasound to be licensed to practice
medicine.
Child labor (HB 2460) -- Provides
that when state agencies enter into a contract to obtain equipment
and other materials made in foreign countries, the contract must
specify that the foreign-made goods were not made by child labor.
Fire equipment (HB 610) -- Requires
the state fire marshal to promote an equipment exchange program that
allows fire departments, fire protection districts and township fire
departments to donate, sell, trade or buy equipment.
Veterans Memorial Commission (HB
756) -- Creates the Veterans Memorial Commission to work with local
governments and oversee the upkeep of veterans memorials in the
state.
Public disclosure (HB 2487) --
Requires any agency filing a report with the General Assembly to put
the report on its website for viewing by the general public
ATMs (HB 3544) -- Allows ATMs at the
Illinois State Fairs in Springfield and DuQuoin.
Firetruck loan fund (HB 3757) --
Reauthorizes the Fire Truck Revolving Loan Fund program, which helps
communities buy firetrucks at lower interest rates.
Automated phone systems (HB 1589) --
Requires all state agencies with automated telephone answering
machines to have an option of speaking with a human operator.
Public hearings (HB 2528) --
Requires a public hearing before the state can close prisons, youth
centers, work camps, work release centers, schools, mental health
centers, centers for people with developmental disabilities and
veterans homes.
Driving permits (HB 21) -- Prohibits
a person younger than 18 who has an instruction permit from using a
wireless telephone while driving a vehicle.
DUI (HB 3816) -- Makes a third
conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or
intoxicating compounds a Class 2 felony.
Domestic violence victims (HB 2467)
-- Allows victims of domestic violence to immediately request and
receive new and different license plates without paying a fee.
Adult businesses (HB 27) -- Allows
counties with a population less than 750,000 to regulate adult
entertainment facilities or businesses in unincorporated areas.
Identity theft (HB 457) --
Eliminates the statute of limitations on identity theft. (HB 2696)
-- Prevents identity theft victims from being denied utility
services or credit simply because they were victims of an identity
theft crime. (HB 2697) -- Penalizes clerks who copy personal
identification information and then sell or give that information to
a third party. (HB 2700) -- Expands venue options for prosecutions.
Terrorism (HB 53) -- Provides that
purposely endangering the food supply or endangering the water
supply constitutes an act of terrorism.
Agriculture equipment (HB 120) --
Increases penalties for criminally damaging farm equipment.
Disabled farmers (HB 1575) --
Creates a state version of the federal AgrAbility Project to help
older farmers and those with disabling injuries remain active and
productive.
Methamphetamine (HB 3507) --
Requires that methamphetamine restitution include reimbursement for
regular and overtime costs incurred by local law enforcement
agencies and private contractors paid by public agencies in securing
the site where the methamphetamine was manufactured. (HB 2532)
-- Establishes a protocol for cleaning up methamphetamine labs.
[News release from Illinois
Senate Republicans] |
