 Among the legislators targeting the state’s staggering backlog of
unpaid Medicaid bills and proposing reforms to improve the level of
service that Medicaid patients receive are state Sens. Christine
Radogno, R-Lemont; Carole Pankau, R-Itasca; Dale Righter, R-Mattoon;
and Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.Righter noted that Medicaid is a
system in desperate need of reform after years of spending
increases, which outpaced revenue growth and pushed Illinois to the
financial edge. He explained that because Illinois’ Medicaid
spending is growing more quickly than the state’s revenues can
sustain, Illinois can’t even meet its current obligations -- which
has resulted in a $1.7 billion backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills to
providers.
Because Gov. Rod Blagojevich continues to try to unilaterally
expand the Medicaid system without legislative authorization,
Righter is advancing
Senate Bill 2463, which would limit new Medicaid expansions
unless they are approved by the General Assembly.
"It’s time to put politics aside and reform Medicaid in a way
that preserves the system for today while protecting the children
and taxpayers of tomorrow," said Righter.
Another key component of the package would close a little-known
loophole in Illinois law that has for decades allowed Illinois
governors to use a current fiscal year’s appropriation to pay the
previous year’s Medicaid bills.
Senate Bill 2846 would phase out the state’s Section 25
liabilities -- which now total almost $3.5 billion -- over the next
10 years.
Radogno noted that the measure would not only substantially
reduce the state’s massive backlog of unpaid health care bills, but
it would also ensure more prompt payments to the state’s Medicaid
providers.
"Right now our Medicaid obligations are burgeoning out of
control, to the detriment of the patients, the medical providers who
wait months for their reimbursements and the state's budget -- which
is being consumed by our Medicaid debt," explained Radogno. "Unless
we take action to address this problem, our liabilities will only
get worse."
In addition to the Section 25 reform and the freeze on new
programs, the package also includes measures to:
-
Establish a series
of benchmarks for care, quality and finances which providers
would be required to meet in order to receive reimbursement for
their services. (Senate Bills
2466 and
2467)
-
Require the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services to use two
consecutive pay stubs in order to verify Medicaid eligibility.
(Senate Bill
2464)
-
Require families
to meet asset-test standards for Medicaid eligibility. (Senate
Bill
2465)
-
Require applicants for the All Kids
program to meet the same citizenship standards already in place
for all other Medicaid-eligible groups. (Senate Bill
2468)
Pankau explained that the Blagojevich administration has placed
significant pressure on its employees to register as many people as
possible for its health care programs, employing a "quantity" versus
"quality" approach to its public assistance programs.
[to top of second column]
 |
 In response, the 23rd District senator has introduced several
reforms to clarify Medicaid eligibility and establish reasonable
limitations to the program, including Senate Bills 2464 and 2465.
Senate Bill 2464 would create a new system of income verification
that would require applicants to use two consecutive pay stubs in
order to verify Medicaid eligibility, while Senate Bill 2465 would
institute a standard of asset testing for Illinois families so that
all participants would be subject to the same standards currently
used for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Any asset
tests would not apply to a family’s home or primary vehicle.
"For some time, the state of Illinois has overburdened the
hospitals, nursing homes and doctors who provide care for our
children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities," said
Pankau. "These groups should not be the ones ‘balancing’ the state’s
budget and putting services to the needy in jeopardy. Few can
argue that real reforms, including income verification and
asset-testing standards, are not necessary, so that Medicaid funding
is being directed to those who truly need it."
Additionally, Pankau has introduced Senate Bill 2468, which would
require applicants for the All Kids program to meet the same
citizenship standards already in place for all other
Medicaid-eligible groups.
Brady said that common-sense changes will restore balance to the
Medicaid system so it can continue to provide needed services for
citizens who rely on it, without passing on staggering debt to
future generations.
"Medicaid is intended to provide help to those who can truly not
help themselves," Brady said. "However, since its inception, its
guidelines and applications have been expanded to the point where it
is eating up more and more of our tax dollars at the expense of
other existing priorities that need our attention, such as education
and public safety.
"Even worse, the people and businesses that provide Medicaid
services are not being paid in a timely fashion," he added. "The
system is clearly not working, and the problems are only going to
get worse. We need to start finding solutions, and sooner rather
than later."
Brady has plans to amend Senate Bill 2466 and Senate Bill 2467,
in an effort to move Illinois toward a performance-based managed
care system, which he says could save the state $110 million in the
first year of implementation alone. The measures would establish a
series of set benchmarks for care, quality and finances that
providers would be required to meet in order to receive
reimbursement for their services.
These reforms are based on the recommendations of the Lewin
Report, commissioned by the Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability in 2005, which found that a performance-based managed
care system could result in substantial savings for Illinois
taxpayers, and set a standard for health care services across the
state of Illinois.
(Medicaid
Reform Package)
[To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF file, click
here.]
[Text from file received from
Illinois Senate
Republicans] |
