“…Right now, as is the case in several
states, Illinois has no state budget because the state legislature and the
governor can't get together on one… The governor now proposes to stiff state workers who have the misfortune
to get sick or injured while he and the legislature snipe at each other.
“The extent to which the situation prompts health-care providers to request or demand patients pay the entire cost of medical services up front remains to be seen. For several years, providers in Springfield and the rest of Illinois have endured payment delays of a year or longer for the care of patients covered through the state's group insurance plan. Delays have been longest for patients covered by the self-insured programs. Because of those delays, there have been anecdotal reports over the years of some providers asking for total payments up front. But it's unprecedented for the state to stop paying claims, even temporarily, for large numbers of people. It's unknown whether the prospect of even longer delays will make more providers more aggressive in trying to collect money they are owed…”
from Reader Supported News: Illinois to Sick State Workers: Good Luck by Charles Pierce
“[However], TRIP Health Insurance Payments Are Unaffected by State Budget Problems. The State of Illinois will continue to pay its share of health insurance bills for retired TRS members in both the Teachers' Retirement Insurance Program and the Total Retiree Advantage – Illinois (Medicare) program. Because of on-going financial problems, state government decided in September to stop paying health insurance bills for 146,000 current and retired state government employees who are members of three self-insured health plans. TRIP and TRAIL insurance plans were not part of this decision” (TRS).
“The extent to which the situation prompts health-care providers to request or demand patients pay the entire cost of medical services up front remains to be seen. For several years, providers in Springfield and the rest of Illinois have endured payment delays of a year or longer for the care of patients covered through the state's group insurance plan. Delays have been longest for patients covered by the self-insured programs. Because of those delays, there have been anecdotal reports over the years of some providers asking for total payments up front. But it's unprecedented for the state to stop paying claims, even temporarily, for large numbers of people. It's unknown whether the prospect of even longer delays will make more providers more aggressive in trying to collect money they are owed…”
from Reader Supported News: Illinois to Sick State Workers: Good Luck by Charles Pierce
“[However], TRIP Health Insurance Payments Are Unaffected by State Budget Problems. The State of Illinois will continue to pay its share of health insurance bills for retired TRS members in both the Teachers' Retirement Insurance Program and the Total Retiree Advantage – Illinois (Medicare) program. Because of on-going financial problems, state government decided in September to stop paying health insurance bills for 146,000 current and retired state government employees who are members of three self-insured health plans. TRIP and TRAIL insurance plans were not part of this decision” (TRS).
And shouldn't the IEA, IFT, IRTA, and teacher retirees be concerned about the 146,000 current and retired state government employees who are members of these three self-insured health plans?
ReplyDeleteYes, they should be We are all in this together
ReplyDeleteWe missed the bullet - this time.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm concerned, this is yet another divide-and-conquer moment. The 146,000 state employees suffering from this situation will NOT be happy that teachers alone are safe from this attack.
Will IEA leadership make some form of public solidarity effort?