Obamacare Leaves Illinois Nursing Homes Waiting For Millions Of Dollars
From Crain's Chicago Business
The massive expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare had an unintended consequence in Illinois, leaving nursing homes in the lurch as the state sits on a mountain of unpaid bills.
The state doesn't know how much it owes nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, some of which have gone a year or more without getting paid. But the figure is likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
About $129 million that's owed has been approved and is waiting to be paid by the Illinois Comptroller's Office. Another estimated $185 million in bills is being processed at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which oversees Medicaid.
But the total amount likely is much higher due to a backlog of pending applications still making their way through the system. There are about 1,100 long-term care providers in Illinois.
People who qualify for Medicaid and need long-term care must undergo a more stringent review than typical enrollees. But the state doesn't have enough caseworkers—or the money to hire more—to get the job done in a timely manner, particularly as it also is dealing with a crush of 359,000 people who joined the Medicaid rolls due to Obamacare.
That's left nursing homes on the hook as they let residents with pending applications live in their facilities essentially at no charge and hope that the backlog eases.
“There's no question it's going to be a challenge,” says Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois, a nursing home lobbying group.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Crain's Chicago Business
The massive expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare had an unintended consequence in Illinois, leaving nursing homes in the lurch as the state sits on a mountain of unpaid bills.
The state doesn't know how much it owes nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, some of which have gone a year or more without getting paid. But the figure is likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
About $129 million that's owed has been approved and is waiting to be paid by the Illinois Comptroller's Office. Another estimated $185 million in bills is being processed at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which oversees Medicaid.
But the total amount likely is much higher due to a backlog of pending applications still making their way through the system. There are about 1,100 long-term care providers in Illinois.
People who qualify for Medicaid and need long-term care must undergo a more stringent review than typical enrollees. But the state doesn't have enough caseworkers—or the money to hire more—to get the job done in a timely manner, particularly as it also is dealing with a crush of 359,000 people who joined the Medicaid rolls due to Obamacare.
That's left nursing homes on the hook as they let residents with pending applications live in their facilities essentially at no charge and hope that the backlog eases.
“There's no question it's going to be a challenge,” says Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois, a nursing home lobbying group.
Read more in our daily News Update...