Below is a posting from John Cullerton the Illinois Senate President’s blog:
What will be the first of several reform bills to shore up the Medicaid system passed the Senate today after passing the House earlier this afternoon. Senate Bill 2840 reduces Medicaid expenditures by $1.6 billion next fiscal year by eliminating certain optional programs and services as well as reducing eligibility for other programs.
Specifics of the legislation include:
• Eliminates adult chiropractic service saving $884,500
• Reduces eligibility for the FamilyCare program from 185%
of federal poverty level to 133% of federal poverty level
saving $50 million
• Implements co-pays for certain services saving $44.1
million
• Limits eyeglasses to one new pair every two years saving
$9.8 million
• Limits adult dental services to emergency services saving
$36 million
The elimination of certain programs, such as the Illinois Cares Rx program that provides pharmaceutical assistance to seniors, will not mean a complete loss of care. The “Extra Help” program, an existing federal program that provides pharmaceutical assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, will allow for continued pharmaceutical assistance for seniors.
“No state has ever taken on the challenge of cutting this much from its Medicaid program in a single year,” Sen. Steans said. “I am grateful to my colleagues and the many parties willing to come to the negotiating table to craft a balanced, fair solution that protects the individuals who most need medical assistance while making the program sustainable and incentivizing better outcomes.”
Senate Bill 2840 fulfills $1.6 billion of Governor Quinn’s call to reduce Medicaid expenditures by $2.7 billion next fiscal year. Legislation to fulfill the remaining $1.1 billion is expected to be filed soon that would increase the cigarette tax and enhance hospital assessments.
So it looks like it will only be Illinois’s seniors that pay the price for Illinois’s woes. Theirs seem to be the only programs that are mentioned. Oh they talk about increased cigarette taxes, but when taxes go up some people are forced to quit because they can no longer afford them, which is an added benefit, but hurts those tax projections. Also enhanced hospital assessments, we all know that hospital don’t pass those costs onto their customers. Oh that’s right they do, who utilizes hospitals more, the young or old? So seniors will be taking on that bite as well.