Comptroller Mendoza Announces Payment of $740 Million to Managed Care Organizations and Other Medicaid Providers

CHICAGO, July 27 -- Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza issued the following news:

The Office of Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza released a total of $740 million in Medicaid payments this week. In part, these payments help satisfy a June court order requiring the state to pay at least $586 million in Medicaid vouchers in the month of July.

This action was made possible under new provisions in the budget that allow existing Drug Rebate Funds to be leveraged for federal matching dollars for payments to Managed Care organizations (MCOs). The payments were made in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

A total of $740 million was issued to eleven MCOs throughout Illinois, and the Comptroller is hopeful that frontline providers will see relief for the Medicaid services already provided on behalf of the state. "The enactment of a state budget, with the support of courageous legislators from both parties who overrode the Governor's veto, allows my office to begin to address critical payments to the healthcare networks serving some of the state's most vulnerable residents," Mendoza said.

Overall, these payments lower the backlog of medical related bills pending at the Comptroller's Office by 18 percent, to $3.5 billion.

The ability to access existing revenues held in special funds is an important tool to begin to pay down some of the state's nearly $15 billion Rauner Bill Backlog. But the Comptroller also urges the Governor to follow through on the legislatively authorized borrowing plan of up to $6 billion in order to address other outstanding medical payments, including a staggering $4.9 billion in state group health insurance bills. All of these bills continue to accrue high interest penalties as they await payment. Until a borrowing plan is implemented to more aggressively tackle the Rauner Bill Backlog, the Comptroller's office estimates the state is incurring roughly $2 million in interest penalty payments each day.

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