Latest news with #HealthBenefitsforImmigrantSeniors
Chicago Tribune
18-06-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Cook County preparing for $211M budget deficit for 2026
Cook County is predicting a $211.4 million budget shortfall for 2026, a relatively modest gap that officials said was more of an estimate than usual thanks to extraordinary uncertainty coming out of Washington. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who has been able to boast budgets free of taxes, fees or layoffs for the last several years, told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that the 2026 projection is the most 'problematic,' and cautioned that 'this is our best guess.' The county is expecting a general fund shortfall of $102.6 million, thanks mostly to higher wages and fringe benefits when its current contracts with union employees expire. Its health fund, meanwhile, is projecting a $108.8 million deficit thanks to a significant drop in patient revenues. Among the biggest long-term potential threats: how Congress ultimately decides the fate of Medicaid, which has helped prop up the finances of Cook County Health; and various federal grants President Donald Trump targeted with an avalanche of executive orders. The budget proposal that passed the U.S. House — but not yet the full Senate — cuts Medicaid by at least $625 billion over the next decade. As it stands, most of the biggest impacts would not hit until the county's 2027 budget, but health leaders say they are planning their response now. New proposed work requirements and more frequent checks to determine whether people qualify for Medicaid would begin at the very end of 2026, and cost an estimated $88 million in patient fees, according to county estimates. The beginning of a provision meant to curtail the Medicaid program helping immigrant seniors would start in October 2027, according to the county. Ending that Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program would mean a $50 million drop in patient fee revenue for the county. The state is already sunsetting its health care program for immigrant adults, which is expected to cost the county $5.5 million in net patient service revenues through the end of this year. Cuts to covered health care typically means the CCH, a safety-net hospital, ends up providing tens of millions of dollars of uncompensated care to people without insurance at its emergency rooms and clinics. CCH plans to enroll patients previously covered by the state's immigrant adult program in its CareLink program, which covers 100% of primary and specialty care, hospital care and imaging costs for the next year, a spokeswoman said. Even without federal concerns, the county is expecting other costs to rise, since several union contracts expire in November, opening up bargaining countywide. During the last round of bargaining, the county granted retroactive 3.5% pay increases dating back to 2021 and a 5% raise in 2025. And a pending lawsuit from road builders over the county's spending of 'lockbox' money on public safety offices could affect the bottom line of the general fund. Last year, the projected shortfall mostly took care of itself by the time fall budget season rolled around. Revenues were higher than expected, closing most of the $218 million projected gap. The county is expecting some cushion. Its main general fund is projected to end this year with a $145 million surplus, thanks to a dip in payroll costs and better-than-expected sales tax revenues thanks to a closed loophole involving online sales. Preckwinkle's finance team policy is not to use that money to plug the next year's gap, but officials said they might use the money to keep paying for programs and positions at risk of being cut if federal grants end. As federal pandemic aid dollars dwindle, Preckwinkle's team has also narrowed its list of programs it might extend after 2026, the county's deadline for spending its total $1 billion allocation. It would cost about $100 million a year to keep 19 programs — ranging from lead pipe removal and brownfield remediation to violence prevention and medical debt relief — going. The county has set aside $166 million in a 'reserve' fund to help pay for those, meaning officials must either cut down on its offerings or find another $255 million to keep them running. Preckwinkle will make her budget proposal on Oct. 9, with a final vote scheduled for Nov. 20.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Noncitizens in Illinois could lose state-funded health insurance. Here's what to know
Immigration advocates and people who received word that they could lose their state-funded health insurance took to the Illinois capitol on April 23 in attempt to sway legislators. Around 32,000 noncitizens in Illinois will lose coverage unless legislators decide to continue funding the initiative that costs the state around $330 million. Here's what you need to know about the program and what's happening to it. More: 'Deep into the shadows': Immigration advocate talks about fears facing communities Gov. JB Pritzker's 2026 budget proposes to eliminate the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program that provides healthcare for low income people who are in the U.S. without legal permission. The program launched in 2022, covering people between the ages of 42 and 64. The Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program that also began in that year, will continue, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. That program serves qualifying people who are over the age of 65. But the governor's office has said that its decision to not propose funding reflects the state's fiscal reality. 'As always, I stand ready to work with members of the General Assembly to deliberate and negotiate the final budget, but let's be clear, I will only sign a balanced budget. If you come to the table, looking to spend more, I'm going to ask you where you want to cut,' Pritzker said in his annual budget address in February. Upwards of 100 demonstrators from multiple organizations rallied at the capitol and also sought to speak with legislators. Alfredo Palafox, a community organizer with the Southwest Organizing Project, said his parents both receive healthcare through the program. They have lived in the state for nearly 20 years and pay taxes. His mother is 57 years old and his father is 65 years old. Palafox's father visited the doctor for the first time since he enrolled in the program because he knew he could not afford to go without its support. His mother also forwent going to the doctor for years before the program afforded her the opportunity, which Palafox described as a need for her. Most of those demonstrators appeared to be Hispanic, though Rana Alkilano also spoke as a program coordinator with Arab American Family Services. Alkilano spoke on behalf of a client who was too afraid to speak in person because of the political climate surrounding immigrants. She said her client is a woman who raises three children alone, while battling a chronic illness, which has led to sizable medical debt. "My client's story is a painful example of how our healthcare system can leave people behind, especially those who are immigrants, uninsured, and already vulnerable," Alkilano said. More: Springfield students, recent grads lose their visas, like others across US An audit published in 2023 found that the programs overspent exceedingly. The senior's program cost $412 million in its first three years, which was reportedly 84% high than original estimates. The adult program covered noncitizen adults age 55 to 64 and was later expanded to cover those as young as 44, Capitol News Illinois reported. It cost $485.3 million over its first two years – roughly 284% more than the combined original estimate for both programs. The report additionally found more than 6,000 people enrolled in the programs were classified as 'undocumented' despite having social security numbers. Some of those were green card holders who could have instead qualified for Medicaid or traditional insurance. Those currently insured with HBIA after June 30 may have access to primary and preventative care at Federally Qualified Health Centers and free charitable clinics that serve insured and underinsured people, regardless of their immigration status and ability to pay, according to IDHFS. Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@ This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Healthcare for noncitizens in Illinois is on the chopping block
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Audit finds Illinois vastly underestimated cost of noncitizen heathcare on taxpayers
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — An investigation has revealed that Gov. JB Pritzker's administration greatly underestimated the cost of providing healthcare to undocumented migrants, costing the state $1.6 billion since 2020. The audit, conducted by Auditor General Frank Mautino, found that: more than 6,000 people enrolled in the program were listed as 'undocumented' despite having Social Security numbers; 700 were enrolled in a program for those 65 and older despite being younger; and 400 were enrolled in the program but were found to have been in the country long enough to qualify for Medicaid. Covered services include doctor and hospital visits, lab tests, physical and occupational therapy, mental health, substance abuse disorder services, dental and vision services, and prescription drugs. The program is similar to Medicaid but is funded by the state since migrants aren't eligible for federal coverage. Without federal match dollars for treating immigrants as part of the state's program, Illinois taxpayers were . was published a week after Pritzker delivered his annual budget address to the General Assembly, in which he proposed cutting funding to a newer program that gives Medicaid-style health coverage to noncitizens between ages 44 and 65, but leaving another program, which caters to noncitizen seniors over 65, in place. The state had estimated the cost of the program for younger people at $126 million, but the actual cost to taxpayers came in at $485 million over three years, the audit found. The Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program, on the other hand, was budgeted at $2 million for the first year, but that estimate ballooned to $4 million while the program was being set up in 2020, and actually cost taxpayers more than $67 million by December 2020. In three years, the program cost the state $412 million — 84% . 'If they don't get healthcare, basic healthcare, they end up in an emergency room and we all end up paying for that at a much higher cost than if we have preventative care and regular care for people,' Pritzker said in 2023. As of December, there 54,000 adults had enrolled in both programs, although the state had estimated 26,800. In 2023, Pritzker pumped the brakes on the program after enrollments came in at a rate ' than people had anticipated when the program was put in place.' 'It's some evidence, anyway, that there are an awful lot of people out there who need coverage, who aren't getting it, or who will do anything to get it,' Pritzker said at an unrelated event on Wednesday. 'And I think that's a sad state of affairs in our society.' The Governor also said that some migrants of working age in the 42-65 program were later able to find a job 'that has health care associated with it.' Republicans have been critical of the program since its inception. 'We're the only state that puts this burden on Illinois tax on their own state taxpayers taking this on and to not run it properly and to have these large cost overruns, that's how you end up with a budget deficit,' Senate Minority Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) . 'That's what's crowding out spending on education. That's what's crowding out spending on other components of the state budget. That's why we need an audit.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Audit finds thousands were improperly enrolled in Illinois health care program for noncitizens, while costs were vastly underestimated
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker's administration vastly underestimated the cost and popularity of a pair of health insurance programs for immigrants who are not citizens that has ended up costing the state $1.6 billion since the initiative began in 2020, according to an audit report released Wednesday. Aside from inaccurate projections of the programs' cost and the number of people who would enroll, the audit uncovered more than 6,000 people enrolled in the programs who were listed as 'undocumented' despite having Social Security numbers, and nearly 700 who were enrolled in the program for people 65 and older despite being younger than that. In addition, almost 400 people were enrolled in the programs but appeared to have been in the country long enough to qualify for Medicaid, which is jointly funded by the federal government. The report from Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino's office was published a week after Pritzker proposed eliminating funding for the program that provides Medicaid-style insurance coverage for people younger than 65 who are in the country without legal permission or are in the U.S. legally but have not yet qualified for a green card. The cut, estimated to save $330 million, was part of Pritzker's plan to close a budget hole once pegged at more than $3 billion. The cost overruns were particularly pronounced in the program for younger recipients, with the actual expenditure of $485 million through the three years ending June 30, 2023, coming in at nearly four times the estimated cost of $126 million, according to the audit. At a news conference in Chicago on Wednesday to announce another round of medical debt relief for Illinois residents, Pritzker did not answer directly when asked why the estimates his administration used for the programs were so far off. Instead, he said some individuals were at times kept on the programs' rolls for a period before the state determined they were no longer eligible, either because of a change in immigration or employment status or some other factor. Despite his proposal to do away with funding for coverage of those under 65, Pritzker reiterated his support for universal health care coverage in an unspecified form. 'The broader context is people need to get health care,' Pritzker said, adding: 'It's some evidence, anyway, that there are an awful lot of people out there that need coverage who aren't getting it or who will do anything to get it, and I think that's a sad state of affairs in our society.' As of December, there were 41,505 people enrolled in the programs — one for those 65 and older, one for those under 65. Roughly 80% of them were in the program for younger immigrants for which Pritzker has proposed eliminating funding beginning July 1. Illinois initially offered Medicaid-style health care coverage for noncitizen immigrants 65 and older in 2020 under a program called Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors. This group of recipients was ineligible for the traditional health insurance program for the poor, which is jointly funded by the federal government. This state-run health care initiative has been expanded twice and now covers those 42 and older. The ballooning costs of the program complicated budget negotiations two years ago. Together, the two programs do not extend to the asylum-seekers arriving in Chicago from the southern U.S. border. The two programs launched in Illinois at a time when Medicaid redeterminations — annual checks that verify whether an enrollee is eligible for that benefit — were put on pause by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the costs for the programs eventually spiraled upward and the issue has roiled the General Assembly in recent years. In February 2023, Pritzker took steps to curtail enrollment in the programs after an initial cost estimate from his administration of $220 million swelled fivefold three months later to $1.1 billion. Ultimately, a little over $500 million was set aside in the budget that passed by the legislature that spring. Last year, the governor announced plans to cut as many as 6,000 health care recipients across the two programs to save more money. Pritzker in the past has defended immigrant health care as a state effort to save more taxpayer money by providing this kind of coverage to noncitizens by keeping them out of emergency rooms and hospitals. But hours after announcing his budget proposal last week, Pritzker explained how there's been people of working age in the 42-to-64 program that have later been able to find a better-paying job 'that has health care associated with it.' 'Yes, we're making sacrifices across the budget,' Pritzker said in his ceremonial office at the state Capitol. 'I'm making sacrifices on things that matter to me.' _____ (Petrella reported from Chicago. Tribune reporter Olivia Olander contributed.) _____
