Originally published June 21 2012
Medicaid on brink of financial collapse in Illinois and other states
by Jonathan Benson, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The taxpayer-funded government healthcare disaster known as Medicaid is on the brink of collapse in Illinois and a number of other states, according to reports, and legislators are working feverishly to come up with solutions to keep the welfare program afloat. A recent Reuters report explains that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, for instance, has signed into law a string of new bills that will supposedly trim roughly $2.7 billion from his state's Medicaid's expenditures in order to keep the program going.
Representing a whopping 39 percent of the entire state's general budget, Medicaid in Illinois is currently an enormous drain on the system, especially because hospitals and healthcare providers often, greatly over-bill for services and drugs dispensed under the program. This is one of the issues Gov. Quinn hopes to address with his new legislation, as well as issues of eligibility. Gov. Quinn is also cutting various Medicaid programs, which some say will eliminate health insurance coverage for thousands of Illinoisans.
Earlier in the year, the state of Missouri made cuts to its Medicaid program, as did the states of North Carolina and Wisconsin. Texas is currently in the process of making cuts to its Medicaid program as well, and Alabama has established major cuts to its Medicaid program in the 2013 budget. All across the country, in other words, states are cutting benefits, altering eligibility, and restructuring guidelines for the purpose of retaining cash.
At the same time, however, many states are once again raising taxes for the stated purpose of eliminating ongoing budget deficits. But many states, including Illinois, continue to tolerate tax loopholes, off-shore tax havens, wasteful spending, and other serious problems that need to be addressed as part of independent audits. Illinois State Rep. Chapin Rose (R-Charleston) put together a step-by-step plan back in 2010 that includes eliminating "fraud and waste in welfare," which is precisely what Gov. Quinn appears to now be doing. (http://illinoisreview.typepad.com)
The bigger problem, though, is the centralized financial debacle that has trickled-down from the federal government to the states. A significant bulk of public funds, both nationally and locally, is spent on wasteful welfare programs like Medicaid that continue to expand their ranks, year after year, with no end in sight. And yet, with these programs on the verge of collapse, the federal government is in the midst of trying to implement Obamacare, which will make Medicaid expenditures look like mere pocket change.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.reuters.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
http://articles.cnn.com
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