SPRINGFIELD, IL - On a day that saw a rare, bipartisan effort to rein in state spending, State Representative Rich Morthland (R-Cordova) backed landmark Medicaid reform legislation aimed at cutting Illinois' Medicaid spending and reversing a decade long trend of exploding costs.
"Today, the Illinois House passed landmark reforms that will ensure the future viability of our Medicaid program," Morthland said. "Without meaningful Medicaid reforms, Illinois' backlog of unpaid bills would grow to approximately $21 billion by 2017, a level of spending that is simply unsustainable. So we took action to cut nearly $1.6 billion from the State's $11 billion Medicaid program, which will help get Illinois back on solid fiscal ground."
With passage of Senate Bill 2840, an estimated 300,000 individuals are expected to be removed from Illinois' Medicaid rolls because they do not meet income eligibility guidelines, are not Illinois residents, have died, or have aged-out of the All Kids program. This eligibility verification alone will save taxpayers $350 million.
The bill also provides for a moderate rate reduction for hospitals of 3.5% and exempts Critical Access and Safety Net Hospitals from the reduction.
Senate Bill 2840, which passed the House on a vote of 94-22-1, will do the following:
- Roll back the Blagojevich expansion of Family Care by reducing the eligibility limit for parents to $30,000 for a family of four
- Impose a $10 co-pay for emergency room visits
- Require a $3.60 co-pay on all services and a $2 co-pay for generic medications
- Limit prescription coverage to four prescriptions per month without doctor certification or need or specialty drug/condition exception
- Eliminate funding for adult chiropractic services
Representative Morthland added that he voted against the so-called Obamacare expansion for Cook County, contained in House Bill 5007.
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