February 22, 2012

Governor's State Budget Proposal

Governor Pat Quinn this afternoon delivered his FY2013 state budget proposal to the Illinois General Assembly. While the Governor is calling for a $2.7 billion cut to the Medicaid program, he is not making specific recommendations. Instead, he is offering to work with the General Assembly and outside groups, including IHA, on developing solutions for reducing the Medicaid liability by $2.7 billion.

The Governor is suggesting that several areas be looked at in restructuring the Medicaid program, including:

• Liability reductions;
• Modernized eligibility standards;
• Utilization controls;
• Rate reduction;
• Accelerate integrated managed care;
• Coordination of long-term care programs; and
• Protect against fraud and abuse.

IHA will be sending members a memo analyzing and summarizing the Governor's budget proposal as soon as more details are available.

IHA has just issued a statement raising serious concerns about the Medicaid proposal and its impact on patients, hospitals and the health care delivery system. You can use this statement with your local media. Also, we urge you to continue contacting your state legislators, expressing your concerns about potential drastic cuts and changes to the Medicaid program (click here to send emails to your legislators).

See also my special video message.