Letter to Patrick Quinn, Governor of Illinois - Medicaid Eligibility

Letter

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Republican members of the Illinois Congressional delegation today wrote to Governor Patrick Quinn asking how the state will verify that those who self-report as Medicaid eligible through seeking Obamacare coverage will be verified as eligible. The letter followed the state's announcement earlier this month that only 1,370 people had selected private plans and nearly 20,000 were deemed Medicaid eligible.

The letter explains:

"We are writing to gather more information regarding those estimates to better understand how many Illinois residents have: (1) completed applications and purchased a private plan, and (2) been deemed possibly eligible for Medicaid but not previously enrolled versus those newly eligible to the program."

The state will bear a higher burden of the cost of those who were previously eligible for Medicaid yet were not signed up. Newly eligible Medicaid recipients are reimbursed higher under Obamacare. And an audit for fiscal year 2010 showed Illinois overpaid $171 million under Medicaid.

Senator Mark Kirk and Congressmen John Shimkus, Peter Roskam, Aaron Schock, Randy Hultgren, Adam Kinzinger, and Rodney Davis all co-signed the letter.

A series of six specific questions were included in the letter. Among them were: "What procedures does the state of Illinois have in place to ensure applications they receive from the FFM (federally facilitated marketplace) will be accurately categorized as previously eligible, newly eligible, or not eligible for Medicaid?"

"What policies has the state of Illinois implemented to limit any future overpayments associated with eligibility errors…?"

The letter also asks for monthly reports from the state on matters related to Medicaid applications and the breakdown of eligibility.

Earlier this month the delegation wrote the state's Director of Insurance seeking information about the number of Illinoisans whose health insurance policies were cancelled due to implementation of Obamacare. That letter has yet to be responded to.