State Senator Collins hails Senate approval of expanded Medicaid access
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16th) issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage today of legislation she co-sponsored to extend Medicaid benefits to low-income adults not currently eligible for medical assistance:
Last year, low-income seniors and other vulnerable people were asked to bear the brunt of devastating Medicaid cuts. The 2012 Medicaid reform package ended the Illinois Cares Rx program, eliminated all routine adult dental care and undermined previous agreements about nursing home staffing. The law limits the number of prescriptions clients can have filled each month, and the process for obtaining an exemption from the limit is still unclear. Even now, we do not know the full impact the weakening of the health care safety net will have on our state, particularly the very poor and communities of color.
But today I was proud to cast my vote for quality, coordinated medical care with full federal reimbursement for people who previously had no options other than the emergency room. Accepting the federal funds will save the state more than $100 million each year, and we can and should invest the savings back into existing state medical assistance programs. Medicaid expansion will also create much-needed jobs in the health care sector, support hospitals that currently go uncompensated for many of the services they provide and boost the economy. Finally, we’re taking a giant step in the right direction on Medicaid.
Senate Bill 26 passed the Senate by a vote of 40-19 and will next be considered by the House.
