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Gov. Pat Quinn signed an agreement with the state's largest public
employee union, the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, that will have state workers take over the
review of Illinois 2.7 million Medicaid enrollees.
| 500 NEW JOBS: Quinn's deal
with the unions will mean 500 new union jobs in state government. |
"This ruling provides the best and most efficient way forward,"
Illinois Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos said in
a statement.
But lawmakers say the private company, Maximus, was "a stunning
success" and should have never been fired.
"As of the latest update, 216,000 people who were receiving Medicaid
benefits were taken off the program because the third-party
contractor was involved," said state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon,
adding that Maximus only looked at about a half million Medicaid
files.
State Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Hinsdale, said before Maximus took over
the review, state workers did a terrible job of checking incomes and
addresses.
"These people were not even living in Illinois," Bellock said. "They
were (in) Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan."
Maximums was due to be paid $37 million next year, but that's now
likely headed for "renegotiation."
Instead, Bellock said Illinois is going to spend tens of millions of
dollars more to hire 500 new unionized, public employees.
"At an average of between $80,000 and $100,000 a year for an average
worker, that would be $50 million," Bellock said.
HFS spokesman Mike Claffey says the state is hiring 50 workers to
take over the Maximus review, the 500 jobs are being added in other
parts of state government.
AFSCME represents tens of thousands of state employees. Illinois'
state workforce is nearly 97 percent unionized.
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The union was furious with Quinn for signing pension reform earlier
this month. No one is saying if this agreement to hire hundreds of
new union members will ease that anger. But Righter said Quinn
clearly did not stand up for state taxpayers.
"When so much else is going wrong within his own administration and
within state government generally, why on earth would you ever
change something that is working that well?" Righter asked,
wondering aloud about Quinn's deal with the union.
| TAXPAYERS LOSE: Righter says
Quinn’s union deal is bad for taxpayers. |
Bellock, however, said it is the people who are in the Medicaid
system who truly need the benefits that are the biggest losers.
"It's not just to save money for the taxpayers," Bellock said. "It
is also to provide a medical home for our most vulnerable population. It is so
we can sustain (the Medicaid) system and pay our providers."
Illinois must now go on a hiring spree. Maximus has been told its
last day on the job is April 30.
___
Contact Benjamin Yount at
Ben@IllinoisWatchdog.org and find him
on Twitter:
@BenYount.
[This
article courtesy of
Illinois Watchdog.]
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