When pressed to come up with ways to address the state's gaping budget deficit without raising income taxes, Illinois Republicans and conservatives love to bring up former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's unilateral expansion of Medicaid. (In 2007, he issued an emergency regulation that increased income eligibility for the state's FamilyCare program from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 400 percent -- equivalent to $83,000 for a family of four.) Below are a few examples:
State Sen. Carole Pankau (R-Itasca): "Start looking at some of the illegal programs that the former governor put in place without any General Assembly approval to do that. ... The largest segment of our budget right now is Medicaid. That is our 600-pound gorilla." (ABC 7's NewsViews, 6/7/09)
Illinois Policy Institute chairman John Tillman: "In 1998, there were 1.7 million people receiving Medicaid benefits. Today there are 2.7 million people receiving Medicaid benefits. And yet the rate of insured is the same. The reason that's happened is that we've raised the eligibility for Medicaid so that a man or woman or family making $80,000 is now getting taxpayer-subsidized health care." (WTTW's Chicago Tonight, 4/16/09)
Chicago Tribune Editorial Board: "Quinn should drop the expensive and likely illegal expansion of coverage under Blagojevich: Roll back the FamilyCare program to levels legislators approved." ("12 Steps Before A Tax Hike," 3/17/09)
State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine): "Governor Blagojevich's failed Medicaid expansion has been a boondoggle -- roll it back." (WFLD's Fox Chicago Sunday, 3/15/09)
And our personal favorite:
Potential gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft: "Gov. Blagojevich, one of the charges for which he was impeached was for illegally expanding Medicaid to 400 percent of the poverty level. ... Blagojevich is gone. That illegal expansion of that benefit is not. Doubling the eligibility of Medicaid has resulted in a 33 percent increase in Medicaid spending by the state just in the last three fiscal years ... They're projecting about $18 million in Medicaid spending [in FY 2010]. So it would save you about $5 billion." (Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz, 6/2/09)
There are two reasons why citing Blagojevich's FamilyCare expansion in the context of the budget debate makes zero sense.







