Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tuesday Medicaid Hearing Could Prioritize State Payments To Health Care Providers

A court hearing scheduled Tuesday has the potential to shake up the precarious financial situation in Illinois. Organizations that run the state’s Medicaid program want a federal judge to speed up their payments.

The state already owes money to  a variety of organizations due to the budget impasse, but Medicaid providers want a federal judge to put them at the front of the line. Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Illinois already spends heavily on Medicaid, and letting those groups cut in line means Illinois would soon run out of money.

"We'll have to go to the courts and ask them: 'OK, out of all of these court-mandated payments, which ones am I allowed to violate?'" she said.

That could jeopardize other payments, such as paychecks for state workers. The Medicaid providers say that argument shows Illinois is not making their payments a priority.

Copyright 2017 WNIJ Northern Public Radio

Brian Mackey covers Illinois state government and politics from the WUIS Statehouse bureau. He was previously A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. He can be reached at (217) 206-6020.
Brian Mackey
Brian Mackey formerly reported on state government and politics for NPR Illinois and a dozen other public radio stations across the state. Before that, he was A&E editor at The State Journal-Register and Statehouse bureau chief for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.