Hospitals and physicians are refusing to join Illinois' new Medicaid managed care program, forcing hundreds of patients to find new physicians, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
Illinois recently passed legislation that moves the state's Medicaid program away for fee-for-service to managed care. Under Illinois' managed care program, half of the state's Medicaid patients will be transferred into managed care organizations by 2015. The trend is occurring across the country as states struggle to balance their budgets and prepare for expanded Medicaid coverage under healthcare reform.
While state officials say the change aims to improve coordination of care and control costs, healthcare providers oppose the managed care program due to "bureaucratic hassles" and resistance to cost-cutting measures. In fact, some of Chicago's most well-known hospitals are refusing to join the program: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, University of Chicago Medical Center and others.
That has left potentially thousands of patients to seek new physicians after having already developed trust with their long-time providers.
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Illinois recently passed legislation that moves the state's Medicaid program away for fee-for-service to managed care. Under Illinois' managed care program, half of the state's Medicaid patients will be transferred into managed care organizations by 2015. The trend is occurring across the country as states struggle to balance their budgets and prepare for expanded Medicaid coverage under healthcare reform.
While state officials say the change aims to improve coordination of care and control costs, healthcare providers oppose the managed care program due to "bureaucratic hassles" and resistance to cost-cutting measures. In fact, some of Chicago's most well-known hospitals are refusing to join the program: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, University of Chicago Medical Center and others.
That has left potentially thousands of patients to seek new physicians after having already developed trust with their long-time providers.
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