An effort to clear Illinois’ Medicaid program of ineligible enrollees has led to the removal of 128,700 participants, but State savings are expected to be far lower than hoped by lawmakers, according to testimony at a legislative hearing on September 17, 2013. The State has moved to cancel 75,707 Medicaid cases as of September 9, officials of the State’s main Medicaid agency said at the joint hearing of the Illinois General Assembly’s House Human Services Appropriations and Senate…
The scheduled rollout of Medicaid managed care in Illinois has been delayed by six months so hospitals can set up their own healthcare networks for Medicaid patients. The new networks, known as Accountable Care Entities (ACEs), are intended to cover children and families. The State’s Medicaid agency, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), originally intended to enroll those recipients in managed care beginning in January 2014, but the date has been pushed back to July…
On July 22, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation to allow Illinois to expand its Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act beginning in January 2014. Illinois is among 23 states that are expected to join the Medicaid expansion, according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The District of Columbia is also participating. As of July 2013, six states were still debating the expansion, while 21 had decided not to move forward. The following table, based on the…
An increase in the cigarette tax increase designed to provide additional funding for the Illinois Medicaid program generated more revenues than expected despite a drop in sales and hoarding of tax stamps prior to the effective date of the tax increase. As discussed here, the $1-per-pack increase was enacted as part of an overhaul of the Medicaid program that sought to eliminate a funding gap of $2.7 billion in FY2013. The State estimated that the increase would bring in an additional $350…
The State of Illinois has asked the federal government to extend Cook County’s Medicaid expansion plan to ensure that recipients remain covered after the end of 2013. In a letter on March 21, 2013, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) told federal authorities that it still expects the State to pass legislation allowing Illinois to expand its entire Medicaid program beginning in January 2014. HFS stated that it was requesting an extension for the Cook County plan as a…
The State of Illinois, like other states, is faced with a decision on whether to expand its Medicaid program in 2014 under the federal Affordable Care Act. The decision in Illinois is complicated by a State law that bans such a Medicaid expansion until 2015. As discussed here, the State moratorium was lifted by the Illinois General Assembly in 2012 for the limited purpose of allowing Cook County’s public health system to gain early access to Medicaid coverage for newly eligible recipients in…
UPDATE: House Bill 6253, which would lift the Illinois moratorium on Medicaid expansion for those who will be eligible under national healthcare reform in 2014, has been filed in the Illinois General Assembly. Watch this space for more information about Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Original blog published on November 20, 2012
UPDATE: Cook County has received federal approval for a Medicaid expansion plan that is projected to bring in $99 million in net revenues in FY2013 and is a key component of the County’s FY2013 budget. The approval, announced by the County on October 26, 2012, means that an estimated 250,000 low income Cook County residents will have early access to Medicaid coverage before Medicaid expansion begins under national healthcare reform in 2014. As discussed here and here, the Cook County Health and…
A $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase enacted by the State of Illinois in June to help fund the State’s Medicaid program is bringing in far less revenue than originally expected and could fall short of projections by as much as $125.7 million. However, due to the way the tax was enacted it is not expected to have a major impact on Medicaid funding. The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) has reduced the estimate of additional revenues attributable to the cigarette tax increase citing a run on…
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on national healthcare reform, Illinois officials plan to seek authorization from the Illinois General Assembly to participate in the expansion of the Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act. Julie Hamos, Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, told members of the agency’s Medicaid Advisory Committee at a meeting on July 20, 2012 that legislation authorizing the expansion will be sought during the fall…
