On June 14, 2010, Health & Medicine Policy Research group (HMPRG) hosted a forum, “The State’s Fiscal Crisis: Changing Our Collective Response.” With over 70 attendees, the forum explored the impact of the State’s budget and recent cuts on health and human services in Illinois. Participants heard from panel speakers about how we might collectively respond to the crisis and ensure responsible and adequate funding for education, health, and human services in Illinois. Materials from the forum can be found on the HMPRG website (www.hmprg.org)

1. Addressing Illinois
Community Health Crisis
Frank Anselmo
Community Behavioral
Healthcare Association
www.cbha.net
June 2010

2. Deadly Withholding of Payments
and Toxic State Cuts
• Vulnerable children, mothers, men and
families who rely on safety net providers
will continue to suffer the consequences.
• Payment delays to safety net providers
who are not part of the ARRA must be
addressed for the sake of consumers and
communities.

3. Unpaid Bills Will Lead to Further Erosion of the
State-Supported Safety Net Infrastructure
• The ability to operate state (supported)
programs for children, seniors and the disabled
will become increasingly impaired. There appear
to be limited options left for the remainder of this
fiscal year to substantially mitigate these
conditions, and the outlook for fiscal year 2011 is
even more ominous. (Italics and underlining added.)
Comptroller’s Quarterly - Edition 35 - April 2010

4. DHS March 10, 2010 estimates* that 100,000 children,
women, men and families will be thrown out of
community behavioral health care and treatment
may be low!
• IDHS Secretary Saddler’s estimates may be low
when one adds into the estimate the loss of
care due to:
– state delays in paying bills to CBHC providers;
– CBHC providers’ exhausted cash reserves; and
– community banks refusal to loan safety net CBHC
providers operating funds.
DHS estimates from Secretary Saddler’s 03.10.10 DHS 2011 budget briefing materials

5. Nonpayment Threatens Rock Island County
Probation System
• The state, which is responsible for paying the county's 28 probation
officers, is a year behind in payments. The last check court services
received was in April to cover the month of August 2009 court
services director David VanLandegen said Wednesday.
• "The state failing to do its job in funding the probation department
will leave sex offenders, domestic abusers and juvenile delinquents
unsupervised, and that is not a good thing for the community," he
said.
1,519 adult felons on probation 1,300 DUI offenders around 200 juveniles on supervision
Quad-Cities Online
June 9, 1010

6. Consequences of Missouri’s
Medicaid Cutbacks
• Researchers at the Urban Institute found
that following cutbacks the number of
uninsured people in the state increased,
hospitals faced greater demand for
uncompensated care and community
health centers faced revenue shortfalls
that forced staffing cuts.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.28.2.w335.
Study prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured

7. Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Children,
Mothers, Men and Families
• Ensure no disproportionate cuts to community
behavioral healthcare:
– DHS-DMH proposed cuts of $91 million GRF and loss of
federal funding will result in a 40% reduction from FY’10
community MH contracted levels*.
*DHS proposed 2011 budget briefing materials
• Issue continuation contracts to CBHC providers
for six months @ 2010 funding levels.
• Significantly reduce provider payment cycles.
• Eliminate wasteful redundancies in state silos.
– Sign HB 5124 - Sponsored by Representative Chapin
Rose.

8. Protecting Our Most Vulnerable Children,
Mothers, Men and Families
• Ask Washington to include or require that
safety net providers are part of:
– ARRA payments,
– infrastructure development,
• H.R. 5040, HITECH Extension for BH Services Act
– P. Kennedy (D-RI) T. Murphy (R-PA)
– enhanced Medicaid.