There will no longer be automatic re-enrollment for recipients. The plan seeks to cut the cost of Medicaid by moving at least half of the recipients out of the program (Medicaid changes on the horizon in Illinois, 2011, Quad City Times).
Even President Obama recently proposed cost cuts to the federal Medicaid program, in light of the pressure to reduce government expenditures. Obama has proposed replacing the federal Medicaid matching formula with a single rate and also to reward states for efficiency and enrollment reduction (Luhby 2011). (The set limits will increase if the unemployment rate increases and the U.S. another recession). The bill would also bolster the controls of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (Luhby 2011).
Still, if the Affordable Care Act's full provisions are put into action, it could prove highly beneficial for a particular problem that afflicts Illinois -- that of reimbursement for physicians who serve Medicaid patients. The new law increases Medicaid reimbursement for primary care doctors to 100% of the Medicare payment rates for 2013 and 2014 with 100% federal financing for the increased payment rates (Medicaid and CHIP in the new health reform law, 2010, KFF). Doctors...
The Affordable Care Act will increase the incentive of Illinois physicians to serve this underserved population, resulting in a more healthy state.
References
Fletcher, Michael A. (2011, June 9). GOP governors push back against Obama on federal
Medicaid rules. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/gop-governors-pushback-against-obama-on-federal-medicaid-rules/2011/06/09/AGyJzDVH_story.html
Luhby, Tami. (2011, April 13). Obama lays out plans for cutting Medicare, Medicaid. CNN.
Retrieved June 17, 2011 at http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/13/news/economy/medicaid_medicare_obama/index.htm
Medicaid changes on the horizon in Illinois. (2011). Quad City Times. Retrieved June 17, 2011
at http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_d3eb1f4c-2843-11e0-b372-001cc4c002e0.html
Medicaid and CHIP in the new health reform law. (2010). KFF. Retrieved June 17, 2011 at http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7952-03.pdf
