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Illinois Democrats Push Back Against The Governor's Medicaid Proposals

Hemophilia.org

Illinois Democrats want to stop Gov. Bruce Rauner from further changing the way the state manages Medicaid, one of its most expensive programs.

State Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria previously supported allowing outside companies and hospitals to run portions of the healthcare system for low-income people. But he says the companies are falling short, and the governor's proposal would increase their reach.

“We’ve given them all the money and we say, 'Okay you take care of it,' " Koehler said. "And so when problems arise, the issue is, ‘Well, who addresses those issues?’ The truth is: nobody.”

Gov. Rauner says the state can provide more care for less money by putting more Medicaid recipients under private administrators and limiting the number of companies. However, Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, calls the plan a "hostile takeover." 

Because of court orders keeping Medicaid in operation, the governor’s moves are not subject to legislative review.

Tom reports on statehouse issues for NPR Illinois. He's currently a Public Affairs Reporting graduate program student at the University of Illinois Springfield. He graduated from Macalester College. Tom is from New York City where he also did stand-up and improv and wrote for the Awl and WNYC public radio.