Coalition of Business, Health, Religious and Union Leaders Protest Illinois Plan to Cut Medicaid Reimbursement Rates

Cuts to Illinois Medicaid reimbursement rates scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 could force small clinics and "already-overburdened" city hospitals to close, the CEO of the Illinois Hospital Association warned Dec. 20, the Chicago Sun-Times reports (Walters, Chicago Sun-Times, 12/21). Kenneth Robbins joined business, health, religious and union leaders in calling for state lawmakers to "respond to" Gov. George Ryan's (R) order for a $125 million reduction in Medicaid reimbursements to reduce the state's $500 million budget shortfall. Under the new plan, hospitals would be reimbursed $135 for an emergency room visit by a Medicaid beneficiary, down from $246. The Chicago Tribune reports that even without considering the proposed cuts, Illinois ranks 46th in the nation in Medicaid reimbursement rates to hospitals. Coalition members said that the payment reductions would create a "ripple effect," causing hospitals and insurers to assume the costs, and possibly "forc[ing]" hospitals to reduce services and lay off workers. Officials from the Ryan administration said they sympathized with the coalition's concerns, but that their "hands were tied" because the state's General Assembly restricted the cuts only to areas where Ryan "had the authority to make changes." Dennis Culloton, a spokesperson for the governor, said, "If we had some legislative participation, perhaps cuts could have been spread out more fairly and evenly." Robbins, the CEO of the hospital association, added, "There are a lot of other places I would look before I start looking at reducing the inflow of federal dollars that spending on Medicaid attracts, and without causing harm to medical care infrastructure in this state" (Yednak, Chicago Tribune, 12/21).