Although hospital surgeries and
emergency room visits dropped slightly in the third quarter of this
year compared with the same period in 2007, health care consumption is
generally considered recession proof. If people are sick, they go get
checked out, regardless of the economic climate. That’s problematic in
an economic crunch, because as revenue sources dry up, it’s often state
and federal medical programs that are first on the chopping block.
Illinois currently owes
a whopping $4.5 billion to health care providers, including more than
$2 billion in Medicaid reimbursement. While state officials advanced
a crucial $1.4 billion borrowing plan earlier this month, it won’t
begin to cover the state’s medical debt. And Illinois isn’t alone,
according to the Washington Post:
Already, 19 states—including Maryland and Virginia—and the District of Columbia have lowered payments to hospitals and nursing homes, eliminated coverage for some treatments, and forced some recipients out of the insurance program completely.
Barack Obama’s transition team has signaled that extra help for Medicaid will be included as part of his administration’s economic stimulus proposal. And like spending on neighborhood stabilization -- which we covered last week -- it makes both moral and economic sense to prioritize Medicaid payments.
A new study by Families USA underscores the point.











