Illinois planning big budget cuts to Medicaid

In what many states are trying to do in two years, Illinois is trying to do in one.  They goal is to cut $2.7 billion from their Medicaid spending budget next year.  The State Journal Register states that their initial plan is determine eligibility of participants, and remove those who don't qualify; rescind services that aren't required by the law and reduce the rates of doctors who service Medicaid.  The is acknowledgement form the government that cutting spending by that much in one year will be difficult, but they will proceed with their plan.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn released in a statement:
"But we’ve gotten to the point where, despite the difficulty, we must try to make the program sustainable in order to keep providing other government services that are just as essential."

At the Medicaid Managed Care Congress this April 30-May 2, 2012, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Georgia and Texas will be participating in the State Medicaid Directors Panel: Overcome State Budget Crises addressing the same issues that Illinois and many other states are missing.  As a reader of this blog, when you register to join us and mention code XP1725BLOG, you'll receive 25% off the standard rate.

What do you think?  What will be the biggest challenges to Illinois for cutting $2.7 billion from their Medicaid budget in one year?

States looking to Medicaid Managed Care plans to control costs

California is just one of the states looking to Managed Care to better care for the high risk beneficiaries in their state.  By partnering with a Managed Care plan instead of paying fee for service, they'll be able to better care for the at risk patients.  The team taking over the care, Molina Healthcare of California, will work with the beneficiaries to provide better care from the beginning, and avoiding the high cost of emergency care that can be prevented.  This arrangement also allows for education and recognition of which populations need education.  According to Manged Care Mag, by providing the education to these individuals, they can also minimize high cost of future care that can be avoided.

With Medicaid accounting for anywhere from 1/4th to 1/3rd if annual budgets are spent on Medicaid.  By shifting to the manged care model, states can also care for more people.  Many are looking to expand to new populations, new geographies and new services, provided by a pre-arranged network arranged by the Manged Care program.  

The Medicaid Managed Care Congress will take place this May and bring together states and health plans to discuss the current state of the program, and promote collaboration and innovation to help the states and managed care programs achieve the new goals of the programs in this current challenging economic state.  For more information on the event, visit the webpage.

While cost savings is a major goal of states turning to Medicaid Manged Care plans, what are some of the other benefits that the beneficiaries will see?