Judge rules Illinois must start paying $293 million toward Medicaid bills.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow announced on Friday that Illinois must “start paying $293 million in state money toward Medicaid bills every month and an additional $1 billion over the course of the next year.”
The Chicago Tribune reported:
U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow’s ruling came after lawyers representing Medicaid patients and attorneys for the state were unable to agree on a plan to deal with bills and pay down a $3 billion backlog owed to health care providers.
The ruling requires the state to start promptly paying all new Medicaid bills, which is estimated at about $586 million per month, and to pay down $2 billion of its bill backlog in payments spread out over the course of the coming fiscal year. The federal government pays half of those costs, so the bottom line for the state will be $293 million per month and $1 billion in backlogged bill payments over the next year.
Cross-posted from LI