As the May 31 deadline to pass a state budget grows closer, the various House and Senate Appropriations Committees continue to work to reduce operations spending by $1 Billion from this year’s levels, as well as setting aside funds to pay obligations such as:
- Debt Service — $2.218 billion
- Paying down unpaid Medicaid bills — $1 billion (half from Federal matching funds)
- Paying down other unpaid bills — $300 million
- Pension Payments — $5.1 billion
- Group Insurance Payments — $1.171 billion
- Statutory Transfers Out — $2.142 billion (payments due to local municipalities, etc.)
- Medicaid Costs — $6.639 billion (this number assumes the Governor’s liability cuts of $2.7 billion)
The critical number to watch here is the last one, Medicaid. Should the target of $2.7 Billion in liability reductions not occur, further operations spending cuts may have to be considered to fill in the gap, unless we enact new revenues, or close corporate tax loopholes.
Should the budget not pass by midnight on May 31, it will then take a supermajority vote to pass it, which would only play into the hand
s of those who want more devastating cuts to human services, education, Medicaid and the rest of government.
As I said in my last update, there are no good choices here. As we work through the budget we are looking for those options that cause the least harm to the fewest numbers of people, reflect the needs of all parts of the State, and try to share the burden of cuts equally while protecting critical services for those most in need. The various appropriations committees and working groups meet daily in Springfield and around the state with the various state agencies, provider and advocacy groups to assess the impacts of proposed cuts, and try to avoid unforeseen consequences.
In the Appropriations—Public Safety Committee, where I am Vice Chairman, we have narrowed considerations down to several critical items, which include:
- Impacts of facility closures within the Department of Corrections, including headcount for correctional officers, remaining facility capacity and programming and the effects on safety for guards and inmates. We are looking carefully at the effects of an apparent spike in retirement of officers and how this will effect staffing and safety while awaiting a new class to graduate.
- Performance metrics to prioritize alternative sentencing systems such as Adult Redeploy; substance abuse, mental health, education and job training services within the prison system; post-release services such as Adult Transitions Centers, community-based re-entry, substance abuse, housing and employment services; as well as prevention programs such as CeaseFire, Safety Networks and the Neighborhood Violence Reduction Initiatives.
- Attrition in State Police, and how 3 new cadet classes can be funded to replace retiring officers, as well as providing new officers for the Toll Highway Authority and Gaming Board
- Construction of new, more modern and efficient State Police Laboratories to consolidate operations, reduce costs and improve capacity to process forensic evidence and DNA samples.
- Economics of consolidation of existing telecommunications centers across the state as new StarComm communication and dispatch technology is rolled out.
- Use of Road Fund money within District 1 (Chicago area) for mass transit, and other Road Fund money for Amtrak operations around the State, as well as other Road Fund diversions for IDOT expenses, workers comp claims, etc.
- Diversion of other state funds for Disaster Recovery and Management, and Nuclear Safety within the Illinois Emergency Management Agency
- Facility closures, staffing and community-based services with the Department of Juvenile Justice.
There are a number of working groups dealing with Medicaid that continue to meet with DHFS, provider organizations, healthcare advocates and other stakeholders to address changes to this critical safety net program. Literally hundreds of changes large and small are being considered within this $14.7 Billion dollar budget including:
- Eligibility redetermination. The goal here would be to reduce any fraud or abuse by recipients or providers to maximize the availability of funds to those families who are entitled to receive services.
- Utilization Review. The goal here would be to eliminate spending on medically unnecessary procedures, duplicative services and in the lowest cost setting (e.g. community based care vs. institutionalization), while delivering a better quality of care to patients based on best practice standards.
- Care management and coordination for those with medically complex, chronic disease or multiple diagnoses (particularly behavioral health).
- Elimination or reduction of various optional services
- Accelerating transition from institutional to community-based care
- Establishment of sliding scale co-pays for certain specialty programs
- New revenues to enhance federal match
- Provider rate reductions
Another major cost item in the budget is employee and retiree healthcare. While all active public employees pay a share of their premiums, historically 90% of retired state and university employees have not. Currently, the cost of this item is about $800 Million.
This week the legislature sent to the Governor a piece of legislation that would require retired employees to pay a share of their health insurance premiums, based on a sliding scale (ability to pay), length of service and age. This would be a change to the systems for state workers, elected officials, judges and state university retirees. Under this law, a regular determination of premium share would have to be made by the Department of Central Management Services, subject to legislative oversight by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR—of which I am a member). I voted in favor of this change.
Each decision we make this year, whether it be on public safety, Medicaid, education, human services, healthcare, pension reform or any other facet of the state budget is going to have a human toll. My commitment is to support measures which protect the most frail and vulnerable, preserve critical core functions of government and to be sure if there are sacrifices to be made that they be shared as fairly and equally as possible.
Lastly, I was thrilled this week with the historic announcement by President Barack Obama and yesterday by Governor Pat Quinn that they are both supporters of marriage equality. All Illinoisans should be proud that our President and Governor are standing for fair treatment and respect for all families. However, there is still much work to be done. Clearly, the trend in Illinois and across the USA is in this direction as people learn about this issue and talk with their family and friends. I will continue to work with dedicated advocates across the state and with my colleagues here in the General Assembly to make Illinois a state which treats all its citizens with fairness.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. My number in Chicago is 773 348 3434 or in Springfield 217 782 3835. My email is greg@gregharris.org.