Illinois legislature passes bill with deep Medicaid cuts

The $1.6 billion in budget cuts would also cut deeply into other Illinois health programs.

Chicago Tribune: Illinois Legislature Passes Deep Health Care Cuts
Hundreds of thousands of poor Illinoisans would lose health coverage, prescription drug discounts for seniors would be dropped and dental care for adults would be greatly curtailed as part of $1.6 billion in budget cuts lawmakers approved Thursday. The major Medicaid reductions ignited anger in some lawmakers who say the cutbacks will jeopardize the lives of the state's most vulnerable residents (Long, 5/24).

Chicago Sun-Times: Illinois House Passes Bill To Cut $1.6 Billion From Medicaid
The Illinois House and Senate sent Gov. Pat Quinn a package of $1.6 billion in budget-driven Medicaid cuts that its sponsors say are necessary to avert the collapse of Illinois' burgeoning health-care plan for the poor. "We believe this will save the Medicaid program," said Julie Hamos, director of the state Healthcare and Family Services department (McKinney, 5/24).

In other news, Medicaid budgets have other states considering their health care liabilities --

Reuters: State Budgets Spring New, Smaller Holes
For some U.S. states the new fiscal year will bring an old problem: shortfalls. Budget gaps totaling $54 billion emerged in state budgets for fiscal 2013, according to a the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank that tracks state fiscal issues. … At the same time, states expect 5.6 million more people to become eligible for the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, which states run with reimbursements from the federal government and which already takes up a third of some states' budgets (5/24).

Associated Press/Kansas City Star: Missouri Joins Settlement With Walgreen Co.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the state's Medicaid program will receive about $42,000 from a national legal settlement with Walgreen Co. The settlement resolves complaints that Walgreens Co. improperly tried to get people to switch their prescriptions to its pharmacies. The company has agreed to pay civil damages totaling $7.9 million to states and the federal government (5/24).