Small clinics and hospitals are drowning in denied and delayed claims from Illinois Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). To cope, some providers have stopped accepting Medicaid altogether. Meanwhile, MCOs are seeing increasing profits, but aren’t meeting patient care metrics.
Illinois
Posted inInvestigations
A New Wastewater Plant in Carterville Could Stop Sewage Overflows — Why Hasn’t Construction Started Yet?
Carterville reported 40 sanitary sewer overflows in the past decade. City officials have known for years that a new wastewater treatment plant would resolve the issue. They promised it would be operational by last year. But construction hasn’t started yet. Meanwhile, residents deal with flooding and backed up basements.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Unsettling Accounts: How Illinois is Confronting the Student Loan Crisis
Illinois has one of the highest rates of student loans in the country, compelling the state to intervene so that residents burdened by debt can have some financial freedom to pursue their goals, including offering state-level loans and programs like the SmartBuy program which relieves a portion of student loan debt for residents who sign up to purchase a home through the program. But legislative support and limited funding for some of these initiatives are barriers to success.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
‘We’re at the Mercy of Child Care:’ Child Care Costs are Crushing Families — Illinois’ Largest Subsidy Excludes Thousands
While the state infuses hundreds of millions of dollars a year into child care programs, the strict eligibility requirements and limitations for its largest child care subsidy exclude tens of thousands of families.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
[Video] Strapped Down: Investigating Restraint Chairs in Illinois Jails
The Illinois Answers Project’s “Strapped Down” series investigated the overuse, misuse and abuse of restraint chairs in county jails across Illinois.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
People were Strapped to Chairs for Hours, Days at Madison County Jail. Many were Mentally Ill or in Withdrawal.
Of all Illinois jails, Madison County has the most incidents of restraint lasting longer than 10 hours–the upper limit set by the chair manufacturer. The jail said they’re not equipped to care for so many mentally ill detainees.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
A Mentally Ill Man was Restrained in a Chair for 68 hours at Franklin County Jail, Violating Policies, Report says
One man was restrained for 68 hours, another for 27 hours. Both were mentally ill. The jail’s own policies say restraint should never last more than 10 hours.
An Illinois disability rights watchdog group says the jail violated both its own policies and state standards.
