Final Legislative Package To Save Medicaid: Spring Legislative Session, May 2012

In FY 2013, the Illinois Medicaid budget had a $2.7 billion hole and $1.9 billion in unpaid Medicaid related bills at the end of FY 2012. To fix this gap in the budget, the Illinois legislature passed the SMART Act, a compendium of four bills that included a $1.00 per pack tax on cigarettes, cut provider rates and optional services, put a moratorium on extending eligibility to new Medicaid groups, and ended the practice of pushing Medicaid payments into the next fiscal year to balance the budget . . .