Senator Jacqueline Collins Stands Against Medicaid Cuts that Punish Low Income Seniors
Katharine Eastvold
Published: May 25, 2012
from the Illinois Senate
www.IllinoisSenateDemocrats.com
State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins
For Immediate Release For More Information:
Friday, May 25, 2012 Katharine Eastvold (217-782-0663)
Sen. Collins Stands Against Medicaid Cuts that
Punish Low-Income Seniors
Reform bill undermines movement for RN staffing standards in nursing homes
SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16th) issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 2840 – Medicaid reform legislation containing program eliminations and reductions, provider rate cuts, procedures for removing ineligible individuals and families from medical assistance, and other cost-cutting measures:
“I am disappointed that the General Assembly has passed a package of Medicaid cuts that asks the sickest, poorest and most vulnerable among us to sacrifice disproportionately. From the deep reductions this legislation makes in critical services like prescriptions for seniors and adult dental care, it appears as though the burden of the reforms is being carried on the backs of ‘the least of these.’
For too long, Illinois nursing home residents and families have struggled with weak regulation that has allowed for substandard care, neglect and abuse. Over the past several years, I’ve worked with advocates and my fellow legislators to guarantee quality care for all nursing home residents, regardless of race, geography or income. Unfortunately, by setting the minimum RN staffing time at 10 percent instead of 15 percent, the measure passed today will in fact perpetuate the unjust disparities between black and brown nursing homes and majority-white facilities. Illinois still ranks number one in the most poorly-rated black nursing homes in the nation. This legislation represents a devastating step backwards for the nursing home reform movement.
I maintain there can be no true nursing home reform without addressing the registered nurse staffing disparity, and there can be no true Medicaid reform where this racial gap is exacerbated and vulnerable Illinoisans are punished for a fiscal situation not of their making.”
SB 2840 has also passed the House and requires only the governor’s signature to become law.
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