Medicaid

State 48

By Chris Andriesen
09/28/2012
  Illinois’ state debt: Illinois’ total state debt is $271 billion Illinois’ state debt has ballooned to $51,000 per household Illinois has roughly $9 billion in unpaid bills Illinois will spend more on pensions than on education by 2016 Illinois’ economic performance: Illinois is 47th in job growth Illinois is 48th in economic outlook Illinois is 48th in...

Medicaid expansions have already failed in Illinois

By Jonathan Ingram
09/07/2012
To mark the second anniversary of President Obama’s health care overhaul, voters should turn to his home state of Illinois to see how it will deliver on its promise of quality health care for the most vulnerable. When they do, they will probably not like what they see. As a state senator, President Obama sponsored...

Lawmakers should not opt-in to ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion

By Jonathan Ingram
07/16/2012
Now that the dust has settled from the Supreme Court’s ObamaCare decision, states are trying to decide whether they should opt-in to ObamaCare’s massive Medicaid expansion. Just 10 states have committed to expanding Medicaid, with another three leaning toward implementing the expansion. Leaders in 13 states, including those run by both Republicans and Democrats, have...

Another day, another terrible competitiveness ranking for Illinois

By Lawrence McQuillan
07/12/2012
CNBC just released its 2012 America’s Top States for Business, and guess what, Illinois didn’t top the list (no surprise there), but it wasn’t even in the top half! Illinois placed a dismal 26th, worse than most of its neighboring states. Texas took top honors as it has done for three of the six years that...

Supreme Court: states don’t have to expand Medicaid

06/28/2012
The federal government can't force states like Illinois to expand their Medicaid programs. Lawmakers should refuse to implement the massive expansion of Medicaid in 2014 and halt plans to implement the expansion early in the Chicago area.

UPDATE: Senate concurs with tax hike on the poor

By Jonathan Ingram
06/14/2012
We’ve previously reported on SB 2194, which imposes new taxes on tobacco products and hospitals. Of course, cigarette taxes can’t fix the structural problems of Medicaid. Last week, the bill passed the House 60-52, with eighteen Republicans voting for the tax hike. Moments ago, the Illinois Senate concurred with the House 31-27, sending the bill to the Governor’s...

Gov. Quinn signs Medicaid package that fails to deliver

By Jonathan Ingram
06/14/2012
Earlier this afternoon, Gov. Quinn signed the “Medicaid reform” package. As you may recall, Quinn called on lawmakers to reduce Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion in his February budget address. The Institute offered a 59 point plan to help lawmakers hit that target. Our plan would have reduced Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion without cutting reimbursement rates...