On February 22, Governor Quinn said in his Budget Address, “To rescue Illinois' Medicaid program, we must reduce expenditures in the program by $2.7 billion in the coming year.” We agreed with him and will hold him to his words.
This afternoon, Governor Quinn put out a proposal that includes a tax increase. We stand with our members on the Medicaid working group against any tax increases to solve our Medicaid crisis. We are encouraging the working group to continue working in a bi-partisan way to come up with $2.7 billion In Medicaid reforms and cuts, NOT revenue enhancements.
This will continue to be a challenging job, but we are confident that the working group can come up with substantive solutions that will truly tackle our massive Medicaid problems.
-Sen. Christine Radogno -Rep. Tom Cross
IL Senate Republican Leader IL House Republican Leader
Showing posts with label medicaid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medicaid. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Medicaid and Runaway Pension Costs FINALLY Move to the Front Burner
So the Governor's FY 2013 Budget is now delivered. The GOP was largely okay with the Gov's address, noting the proposed reforms to the state pensions and Medicaid are critical to getting the state's finances back on track.
Where the GOP's criticism does focus is on the lack of details. The Gov's address, and Budget briefing for the press, left a lot of details still to be determined.
Sen Radogno was also critical of the increase in state spending. And that could have been cut -- but we should note the increase in spending is driven largely by two factors that increase automatically - Pensions, and Medicaid.
Thus, the Governor called for reforms that will alter the automatic spending increases in these two programs. But again... how that should be done, the Gov doesn't say, but proposes a committee of lawmakers should make a proposal on April 17th.
Illinois would have been much better off had this address been delivered 10 years ago. But at least the critical need to address these programs that continue to eat away at the state budget, has FINALLY been proposed.
But the GOP lawmakers add, if the Gov is serious about repairing the Medicaid system that bleeds money -- he might start by signing the request for waivers from the US Govt. The GOP notes the bipartisan agreement on reforming Medicaid, that was reached last year, has yet to accomplish anything, because Gov Quinn -- after an entire year -- has yet to request these Federal waivers.
Where the GOP's criticism does focus is on the lack of details. The Gov's address, and Budget briefing for the press, left a lot of details still to be determined.
Sen Radogno was also critical of the increase in state spending. And that could have been cut -- but we should note the increase in spending is driven largely by two factors that increase automatically - Pensions, and Medicaid.
Thus, the Governor called for reforms that will alter the automatic spending increases in these two programs. But again... how that should be done, the Gov doesn't say, but proposes a committee of lawmakers should make a proposal on April 17th.
Illinois would have been much better off had this address been delivered 10 years ago. But at least the critical need to address these programs that continue to eat away at the state budget, has FINALLY been proposed.
But the GOP lawmakers add, if the Gov is serious about repairing the Medicaid system that bleeds money -- he might start by signing the request for waivers from the US Govt. The GOP notes the bipartisan agreement on reforming Medicaid, that was reached last year, has yet to accomplish anything, because Gov Quinn -- after an entire year -- has yet to request these Federal waivers.
Lt Gov Simon Statement on Gov Quinn's FY 2013 Budget Address
“A responsible budget must be based on real revenue. With pension and Medicaid costs eating up more of our tax dollars, we must reduce spending. As Lt. Governor, I worked hard to cut 9 percent of our budget, and applaud the other agencies who scoured their operations to do the same. As a Southern Illinois resident, I am disappointed that the state is proposing facility closures in areas that already suffer from high unemployment. I encourage the people whose livelihoods will be affected to join me in the budget process and speak up as we review the economic impact of such closures.”
Simon’s fiscal year 2013 appropriation request is more than 9 percent lower than her budget request from fiscal year 2012 and includes a reduction in full-time staff, from 24 to 21 members. The appropriation request is the lowest in at least 16 years and will net taxpayers a savings of nearly $200,000. In FY12, Simon is the only constitutional officer to return the equivalent of 12 days pay to the General Revenue Fund. Her senior staff voluntarily is taking four unpaid furlough days in FY12, as well.
As the Governor’s point person on education reform and a member of the Budgeting for Results Commission, Simon recently announced a community college reform package that will use existing state resources to increase college completion rates. As chair of the Classrooms First Commission, Simon is developing recommendations that will make elementary and high school districts more efficient.
Simon’s fiscal year 2013 appropriation request is more than 9 percent lower than her budget request from fiscal year 2012 and includes a reduction in full-time staff, from 24 to 21 members. The appropriation request is the lowest in at least 16 years and will net taxpayers a savings of nearly $200,000. In FY12, Simon is the only constitutional officer to return the equivalent of 12 days pay to the General Revenue Fund. Her senior staff voluntarily is taking four unpaid furlough days in FY12, as well.
As the Governor’s point person on education reform and a member of the Budgeting for Results Commission, Simon recently announced a community college reform package that will use existing state resources to increase college completion rates. As chair of the Classrooms First Commission, Simon is developing recommendations that will make elementary and high school districts more efficient.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Patti Bellock & Kristina Rasmussen: Expansion of Medicaid is Not the Health-Care Answer
From the State Journal-Register
Much of the debate over national health-care legislation has centered on flashpoints like higher taxes, abortion and immigration.
Yet one major aspect of the health-care plans being developed on Capitol Hill has received relatively scant attention. House and Senate Democrats are planning on significantly expanding Medicaid in an attempt to decrease the number of uninsured.
Medicaid was launched in 1965 as a joint federal-state safety net that would help cover health-care costs for the poorest of the poor. Congressional Democrats’ health-care plans would swell Medicaid far beyond the program’s core focus.
In particular, the federal government would require Illinois to vastly expand our Medicaid operations to cover hundreds of thousands of new enrollees. This could translate into an overwhelmed system for current care recipients and providers, higher costs for Illinois taxpayers, and less local control over our state’s government health programs.
Let’s consider where we’re at today in order to get a better understanding of what this would mean for our state. We spend more than $11 billion a year on Medicaid. More than 2.6 million Illinoisans are enrolled in the program. During the last 10 years, liabilities have grown at a rate of 6.9 percent a year, in part due to eligibility increases. Program administrators are projecting a 7 percent spending increase for 2010.
According to a June report from the Taxpayer Action Board, if recent spending rates remain constant, “Medicaid spending will reach approximately $22 billion in 2019, which could represent roughly 50 percent of the entire state budget and would begin to crowd out other State spending priorities, such as public safety and education.”
Illinois is already having a hard time paying for its current Medicaid obligations — the state’s well-publicized payment backlog is clear proof of this problem.
With this in mind, a Medicaid expansion — even one partially or temporarily funded by the federal government — would make the outlook for balancing Illinois’ budget much more bleak than it already is. This doesn’t bode well for taxpayers, existing Medicaid recipients or providers.
Ongoing negotiations in Congress will determine at what level benefits would be set, when they take effect, and how the federal government and the states will share the cost. In the meantime, it is possible to get a sense of what an expansion could mean for Illinois. The numbers are not comforting.
Were Illinois to extend Medicaid to every uninsured resident making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level at regular reimbursement rates, it would cost the Medicaid program an additional $1.5 billion a year, not accounting for medical inflation. Even if Illinois only had to pay a tenth of the expansion costs, the impact would still be staggering for a state already billions in the red.
Moreover, if we have to increase our doctor reimbursement rates to ensure sufficient physician participation to meet higher demand, overall costs would also go up significantly each year.
Currently, about one in five Illinoisans receives health-care coverage from Medicaid. If eligibility were expanded according to the income guidelines from the House plan, 690,000 individuals could join Illinois’ Medicaid rolls. This figure does not even include those who will drop their private insurance for public coverage.
Low-income children, their parents and the disabled have traditionally been first in line to receive Medicaid. These populations may suffer from adding more able-bodied adults to the system.
To make matters worse, state legislators would have less local control over how Illinois’ Medicaid system is designed, instead having to follow more federal mandates and having virtually no flexibility to reduce or control future rising costs.
Medicaid is an important program, but a pricey expansion would have Illinois run the risk of not delivering on promised care to enrollees. Other less-than-desirable funding options would include continuing to delay payment to providers, reducing the resources available to other state programs, or sending the state’s tax rates sky high.
Illinois residents deserve a better health-care alternative from Congress that focuses on patient-centered reforms empowering the doctor and the patient to make effective and economical health policy choices.
Is Washington listening?
Patti Bellock is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from Westmont. Kristina Rasmussen is executive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute.
Much of the debate over national health-care legislation has centered on flashpoints like higher taxes, abortion and immigration.
Yet one major aspect of the health-care plans being developed on Capitol Hill has received relatively scant attention. House and Senate Democrats are planning on significantly expanding Medicaid in an attempt to decrease the number of uninsured.
Medicaid was launched in 1965 as a joint federal-state safety net that would help cover health-care costs for the poorest of the poor. Congressional Democrats’ health-care plans would swell Medicaid far beyond the program’s core focus.
In particular, the federal government would require Illinois to vastly expand our Medicaid operations to cover hundreds of thousands of new enrollees. This could translate into an overwhelmed system for current care recipients and providers, higher costs for Illinois taxpayers, and less local control over our state’s government health programs.
Let’s consider where we’re at today in order to get a better understanding of what this would mean for our state. We spend more than $11 billion a year on Medicaid. More than 2.6 million Illinoisans are enrolled in the program. During the last 10 years, liabilities have grown at a rate of 6.9 percent a year, in part due to eligibility increases. Program administrators are projecting a 7 percent spending increase for 2010.
According to a June report from the Taxpayer Action Board, if recent spending rates remain constant, “Medicaid spending will reach approximately $22 billion in 2019, which could represent roughly 50 percent of the entire state budget and would begin to crowd out other State spending priorities, such as public safety and education.”
Illinois is already having a hard time paying for its current Medicaid obligations — the state’s well-publicized payment backlog is clear proof of this problem.
With this in mind, a Medicaid expansion — even one partially or temporarily funded by the federal government — would make the outlook for balancing Illinois’ budget much more bleak than it already is. This doesn’t bode well for taxpayers, existing Medicaid recipients or providers.
Ongoing negotiations in Congress will determine at what level benefits would be set, when they take effect, and how the federal government and the states will share the cost. In the meantime, it is possible to get a sense of what an expansion could mean for Illinois. The numbers are not comforting.
Were Illinois to extend Medicaid to every uninsured resident making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level at regular reimbursement rates, it would cost the Medicaid program an additional $1.5 billion a year, not accounting for medical inflation. Even if Illinois only had to pay a tenth of the expansion costs, the impact would still be staggering for a state already billions in the red.
Moreover, if we have to increase our doctor reimbursement rates to ensure sufficient physician participation to meet higher demand, overall costs would also go up significantly each year.
Currently, about one in five Illinoisans receives health-care coverage from Medicaid. If eligibility were expanded according to the income guidelines from the House plan, 690,000 individuals could join Illinois’ Medicaid rolls. This figure does not even include those who will drop their private insurance for public coverage.
Low-income children, their parents and the disabled have traditionally been first in line to receive Medicaid. These populations may suffer from adding more able-bodied adults to the system.
To make matters worse, state legislators would have less local control over how Illinois’ Medicaid system is designed, instead having to follow more federal mandates and having virtually no flexibility to reduce or control future rising costs.
Medicaid is an important program, but a pricey expansion would have Illinois run the risk of not delivering on promised care to enrollees. Other less-than-desirable funding options would include continuing to delay payment to providers, reducing the resources available to other state programs, or sending the state’s tax rates sky high.
Illinois residents deserve a better health-care alternative from Congress that focuses on patient-centered reforms empowering the doctor and the patient to make effective and economical health policy choices.
Is Washington listening?
Patti Bellock is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from Westmont. Kristina Rasmussen is executive vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute.
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