·
Representative Patty Bellock questions
Quinn administration’s compliance with Medicaid reform.
In a Chicago budget hearing on Tuesday, September 17 that centered on
Medicaid and health care issues, members of the Illinois House questioned the
Department of Healthcare and Family Services (DHFS) about the Department’s implementation
of Medicaid reforms. The General
Assembly, bound by its constitutional duty to generate a balanced budget,
appropriated money to DHFS for Medicaid that assumed that these reforms, which
have been enacted into law, would be carried out.
One key reform, looked at closely by the Illinois House this week,
is the scrutiny of existing Medicaid patients to see how many of them are legally
ineligible for Medicaid. Existing law
assumes that this redetermination will be carried out under contract by the
private sector, and DHFS has contracted with Maximus, a service provider with
experience at performing database scrutinies and redeterminations of this
type.
A major public-sector labor union that opposes what they call the
“privatization” of government operations has held up the redetermination by
grievancing the role to be played by Maximus, and an arbitrator has ruled in
favor of the union’s complaint and won a preliminary ruling. The arbitrator’s ruling calls for the Maximus
contract to be ended no later than December 31 and for the redetermination work
to be re-planned and started over by full-time state workers.
At the September 17 hearing, Rep. Patty Bellock (R-Westmont) forcefully
advocated for DHFS to continue working with Maximus in line with the policy and
budget goals set by the General Assembly.
DHFS agreed to appeal the arbitrator’s ruling. This appeal, if it is legally sustained, will
mean that the State will be able to continue to work with Maximus and continue
to make progress toward meeting its budget and policy goals.
On the other hand, the possible failure of the Quinn administration
to win this appeal, combined with the money totals allocated to Medicaid under
the current budget, could mean that this Medicaid reform program will be
upended. Health care service providers could
have to wait even longer to get reimbursed by the State than their current
queue times. Further legislation may be
required to clarify the powers and duties of the State to implement Medicaid
reform, including redetermination, and save money for Illinois taxpayers.
Concealed Carry
·
As controversy continues, Illinois
State Police revise and update the webpage they use to inform Illinoisans about
their new concealed carry rules. These rules, which have
so far been adopted as emergency rules under a loophole in state law that
allows the rules to be adopted without official public comment, describe the
terms and conditions under which Illinois residents who are gun owners will be
expected to follow when they apply for a license to carry a concealable firearm
when in public. “In public” includes
when the armed citizen is in a moving motor vehicle or walking on a public
sidewalk.
Several organizations that have historically represented the
Second Amendment rights of gun owners have expressed sharp concern about
aspects of these rules that could make it more difficult to get a license of
this type. Concerned gun owners may want
to work with their advocacy groups, and may also want to look up the State
Police’s concealed carry website at http://www.isp.state.il.us/firearms/ccw/ and their Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) webpage at http://www.isp.state.il.us/firearms/ccw/ccw-faq.cfm.
General Assembly – Legislative Pay
·
Judge hears arguments in case brought
by Democratic Party caucus leaders. After Governor Pat Quinn vetoed that
portion of the State’s budget meant to be used to pay the members of the
Illinois House and Senate, the House Speaker and the President of the Senate,
who lead their respective party caucuses, sued the State to reopen their
members’ pay window. Associate Judge
Neil Cohen heard arguments in the case on Wednesday, September 18, and said he
would rule on the case no later than Thursday, September 26.
Opponents of the lawsuit say that the General Assembly has a
constitutional recourse to get paid – they can override the Governor’s
veto. However, many members, including
many members of the House Republican caucus, have expressed opposition to an
override. They want the State to settle
its pension crisis and take other urgently needed measures to stabilize the
State’s fiscal picture and taxpayer prospects before the General Assembly can
get paid according to law.
Higher Education
·
Changing demographics at the
University of Illinois (UIUC). New figures show that a
record percentage of University of Illinois students at the state university
system’s flagship campus are international enrollees. For 2013-14, a record high percentage of
undergraduate enrollees, 15.5%, are from abroad and a record low percentage,
73.0%, are from families residing in Illinois.
This proportion of less than three-quarters is a sharp decline from the
90 percent figures posted less than a decade ago. About 44.7% of Illinois residents who were
offered admission to the 2013-14 fall freshman class responded positively to
their acceptance, which the university and Chicago
Tribune reporters believe could be the lowest positive-response percentage
ever by Illinois residents.
Positive response rates from Illinois residents to a green light
from the University of Illinois admissions office have been hampered in recent
years by compounded tuition rates, spurred higher by overall trends in higher
education and cuts in the allocations of Illinois general tax revenues for
higher education. Total tuition, fees,
and other living costs for an Illinois resident at the University of Illinois
can be up to $35,000 per year. At the
same time, the appetite by non-U.S. students and their families for a
University of Illinois education continues to grow. Approximately 4,990 U of I undergraduates are
from abroad, as a percentage of a total population of 32,300
undergraduates. Non-U.S. students must
pay up to $52,000/year. 2,588 of these
4,990 undergraduates are from China, and 886 are from South Korea. The University of Illinois numbers were
published on Friday, September 13.
Special Education
·
Special education rules draw
scrutiny. The State Board of
Education (SBE) had been pursuing a repeal of current rules that place a cap on
the class size for self-contained special education classrooms, as well as to
provide that no more than 30% of a general education classroom can be comprised
of special education students.
The SBE held public hearings over
the summer to take comments from the education community, special education
advocates, and parents. During the SBE’s
meeting this week on Thursday, September 19, board members decided to delay
adopting the rules to ensure that there is ample time to take into
consideration all testimony taken during the comment period before sending the
changes to the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
(JCAR) for review and possible enactment.
The SBE says these current rules
exceed the requirements under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), and that the implementation of the current rules over the past
three years has led to several unintended consequences for both special
education and general education class rooms. The SBE believes that the elimination of the
sections specific to special education class size and general education class
composition will ensure that each student with disabilities is placed in the
least restrictive environment, as well as have access to a broader array of
coursework, particularly in the middle grades and high school. Opponents of the proposed SBE rule changes
believe that the action would compromise the quality of education for all
students.
State Government
·
Many unelected members of boards and
commissions collect taxpayer-funded salaries. Pay and other
compensation includes travel and other expenses required to attend board
meetings, and in many cases service on a state board or commission is not a
full-time job. The nonpartisan
Legislative Research Unit (LRU) reports that pay board and commission service
scales up to the compensation granted to members of the Workers’ Compensation
Commission (WCC), whose members (who oversee the full-time staff that supervises
the workers’ compensation system of Illinois) are paid $119,840 per year, plus
expenses (the WCC chairperson receives a
supplemental stipend of $5,392/year).
Members of the Pollution Control Board are paid $117,043 per year, plus
expenses, and the Small Business Utility Advocate is paid $99,414 per
year. Most members of state boards and
commissions are appointed by the Governor.
Starting on Wednesday, September 18, the Daily Herald and its allied papers began a feature series on the
expenses of Illinois boards and commissions to taxpayers and fee payers. The newspaper found that collective pay and
expenses in these budget line items cost nearly $6.9 million last year for 167
commissioners who are paid salaries and expenses. Illinois has 391 separate boards and
commissions, although most of the commission positions pay expenses only and do
not include a separate paycheck for chairpersons or members.