IL fails to expand Medicare under ACA

ILLINOIS: The legislature’s veto session adjourned last week with the Assembly failing to finish its preliminary actions to expand Medicaid under the ACA. The House Appropriations Committee had approved a bill that would have added 520,000 state residents to the Medicaid system, providing a 50 percent match for nearly one-third of those individuals who qualify under current standards.  The remaining new enrollees would be adults between the ages of 19 and 62 who have no children and incomes that are less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level.  While the federal government initially would pick up 100 percent of the increased cost for the new enrollees, Illinois would gradually pick up part of the cost, expected to total about $100 million annually. An amendment was offered that would automatically eliminate new enrollees from the program if federal funding drops below 90 percent.  The bills already have been re-filed along with the amendment. Passage of the bills is considered likely in February or March.