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Illinois is strapped for cash to fund it's Medicaid program and other budget needs. Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich has yet to finalize a budget with state lawmakers, and the state is operating on month-to-month extensions.
Local hospitals are concerned with low Medicaid reimbursement rates and late payments for the essential medical care they provided to residents:
"As we see the state roll into a new fiscal year with a month-to-month budget approach, the true issues of the state - health care, education, transportation, pensions - are not going to get addressed," said Billings, president and chief executive officer of Blessing Corporate Services, the parent company of Blessing Hospital in Quincy [Quincey Herald-Whig, 7/13/2007].
With limited Medicaid funding, it's crucial that the state get the most value for it's health care dollars. Illinois can bolster funding for needed medical care for it's citizens by leaving purely elective treatments out of the state's coverage. For example, since 2003, Medicaid programs in Montana, Utah, Florida, Maine, Louisiana, Idaho, and Minnesota have joined a group of 16 states in de-funding elective circumcisions, each saving their share of an estimated $70 Million dollars spent annually by taxpayers on the optional surgery, with the typical state able to save about $1 Million each year.
Such low-hanging fruit, however, is not easy to come by, since Medicaid already, by and large, does not cover purely elective treatments.
Sullivan [state Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville] agreed that nobody is happy with a one-month stopgap spending plan. He believes Medicaid providers are hurt by the lack of a full budget plan. He said care for established Medicaid patients won't be affected, but if the state continued to do one-month budgets, revenue would not keep up as new people become eligible.
Increased efficiency in the use of Medicaid funds alone, however, are unlikely to make up the shortfall.
"The solution will not come without new revenue streams," Billings said. "You have to look at efficiencies in state operations, and some sort of taxing policy that involves all levels of citizenry in Illinois - the private citizen, the business citizen, the legislative citizen. Everybody's going to have to contribute in a parity way."
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