© 2024 WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting
Member-Supported Public Media from Southern Illinois University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

House Passes Health Care Cost-Cutting Plan

Lawmakers in the Illinois House voted to slash health care for the state's poor.

The House passed the plan late Thursday afternoon.  It calls for cutting services by roughly one-point-three billion dollars. It would reduce care for hundreds of thousands of people and end it entirely for others. William McNary is with the group Citizen-Action Illinois. He says in human terms, the cuts will be damaging: “People will not get less sick, because we make these cuts. As a matter of fact, in many cases it’s going to drive up health care costs over time because some of the people who would seek preventive care will now seek after-the-fact care.”

The legislation also reduces payments to hospitals and nursing homes by about 240-million dollars.   It now moves to the Senate for consideration.  A move to raise cigarette taxes by a dollar-a-pack to help paydown the medicaid backlog will likely be considered separately.  The overall package is meant to close a multi-billion-dollar hole in Medicaid funding and strengthen the state's shaky budget.

As a WSIU donor, you don’t simply watch or listen to public media programs, you are a partner. By making a gift, you help WSIU produce, purchase, and broadcast programs you care about and enjoy – every day of the year.