Medicaid Proposal Prompts Worries About Backlog Of Unpaid Bills
From the Peoria Journal-Star
The federal government would fully fund the first three years of a proposed expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Illinois, but critics say related costs not covered by the feds could result in the state taking even longer to pay its bills.
“Before you go expanding and taking on additional liability, you need to make sure that the people who are already on the rolls are taken care of, and that’s not what’s happening,” said Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois.
The council, which represents for-profit nursing homes, doesn’t deny that expanding Medicaid as part of the federal Affordable Care Act would help many of Illinois’ 1.7 million uninsured residents gain coverage.
But Comstock said nursing homes, which serve about 60,000 Illinoisans on Medicaid, already are owed $400 million for bills that are an average of six months’ late. And she noted that Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is about $500 million short of achieving the $1.6 billion in annual Medicaid cuts and related savings envisioned in legislation passed last year.
“Less than 12 months later, we’re talking about expanding the program?” Comstock asked. “That doesn’t make sense to us.”
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From the Peoria Journal-Star
The federal government would fully fund the first three years of a proposed expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Illinois, but critics say related costs not covered by the feds could result in the state taking even longer to pay its bills.
“Before you go expanding and taking on additional liability, you need to make sure that the people who are already on the rolls are taken care of, and that’s not what’s happening,” said Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois.
The council, which represents for-profit nursing homes, doesn’t deny that expanding Medicaid as part of the federal Affordable Care Act would help many of Illinois’ 1.7 million uninsured residents gain coverage.
But Comstock said nursing homes, which serve about 60,000 Illinoisans on Medicaid, already are owed $400 million for bills that are an average of six months’ late. And she noted that Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is about $500 million short of achieving the $1.6 billion in annual Medicaid cuts and related savings envisioned in legislation passed last year.
“Less than 12 months later, we’re talking about expanding the program?” Comstock asked. “That doesn’t make sense to us.”
Read more in our daily News Update...