Legislature OKs Medicaid cuts; no vote yet on cigarette tax

The Illinois House and Senate on Thursday passed pieces of a Medicaid overhaul, including legislation slashing $1.6 billion from the program. Gov. Pat Quinn praised legislators, but said their work won’t be complete until they pass a $1-per-pack cigarette tax. “Raising the price of cigarettes is also sound health policy. Smoking-related conditions are a significant burden on our Medicaid system, and this measure will improve the health of our people and reduce future Medicaid costs,” he said in a statement.

The House voted 94-22 and the Senate voted 44-13 to adopt the cuts in Senate Bill 2840, which range from outright elimination of some programs – like Illinois Cares Rx, a prescription drug assistance program for seniors – to taking extra steps to ensure that those receiving aid are entitled to it. The bill now heads to Quinn’s desk. “There is nothing about this bill that anyone is completely happy with,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago.

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“The system was on the brink of collapse.” Quinn wants the legislature to come up with a $2.7 billion combination of Medicaid spending reductions and new revenue for fiscal year 2013. The cuts approved Thursday are the product of months of negotiations by lawmakers from both parties. Still, in the days leading up to the vote, some Republicans said the reductions don’t go deep enough. However, House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, called the Medicaid changes “very significant.” “It is the beginning of a slow trip out of this deep hole,” Cross said. 'Hurts neediest' Elimination of Illinois Cares Rx will affect an estimated 180,000.

 The bill also limits participation in the Family Care program to 133 percent of the federal poverty rate. Medicaid recipients will be limited to one pair of glasses every two years, and adults will no longer be able to receive chiropractic and podiatric services. About 36 medically fragile children, who tend to rely on ventilators in their homes, will lose coverage under the bill, which restricts Medicaid coverage for such children to families with no more than $112,000 in family income .

“There’s pain in this bill, but we’re trying to minimize the pain,” said Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, who helped negotiate the cuts. “It will put us in a much better trajectory on the Medicaid program for years to come.” Several minority lawmakers said the cuts will hurt Illinois’ neediest residents. They said the state instead should eliminate business tax breaks or expand the state sales tax to come up with additional money for Medicaid.