In response to a lawsuit that alleges the state of Illinois failed to fulfill its Medicaid obligations, a federal judge has ordered the cash-strapped state provide in-home nursing care to more than 1,200 children with disabilities and severe medical conditions, reports The Herald-News.
Below are five things to know about the lawsuit.
1. Each of the 1,200 children involved in the lawsuit were approved by the state of Illinois for in-home medical care, however not a single child has been provided with the promised service.
2. Illinois is in the 10th month of a budget stalemate between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled state legislature. The budget crisis has left many state agencies without the funding necessary to continue providing services.
3. The plaintiffs' attorneys have argued that because the state pays low rates to in-home nurses, the state has created a shortage of healthcare professionals willing to perform services for Medicaid beneficiaries.
4. Some of the children that were approved by the state for in-home care are currently being treated in hospital intensive care units, which is much more expensive for the state. One child cited in the lawsuit spent nine months in a hospital, costing the state $78,000 a month compared to about $20,000 a month for in-home treatment.
5. According to the plaintiffs' attorneys, the state plans to appeal the court's decision and ask that the order to provide immediate in-home treatment to the children be stayed until the lawsuit is resolved, reports The Herald-News.