Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Expansion of Illinois Medicaid Rejected

Categories: Illinois

In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to add another 147,000 people to the state's Medicaid program. But he's getting opposition from some unusual suspects--members of his own party.

The Springfield Journal-Register tells us that various legislators blasted the governor, not for the idea of expanding Medicaid, but for the way that he is doing it. Said one, "Under what chutzpah do you come to this body and ask us to approve a rule that we already rejected when you had the unmitigated gall to put 3,300 people on the program that you asked us to approve and we did not approve?"

The Chicago Sun-Times calls the vote of a legislative panel (8-2) a "serious setback," while the Chicago Tribune points out that this is the second rejection in three months.

Be thankful for the wisdom of the founding fathers; institutional factionalism is alive and well, keeping Illinois from slipping further into the mess of bad policy. To further muddle the picture, a court will soon hear a lawsuit filed against the administration.