Urge Congress to Support Hospitals and Health Care

Urge Congress to Support Hospitals and Health Care


June 28, 2011

An Urgent Message from the Illinois Hospital Association:

Urge Congress to Support Hospitals and Health Care

Medicare and Medicaid are at great risk for deep cuts with Congress debating the national debt limit and federal deficit. Various proposals are being floated that would impose cuts of at least $200 billion to Medicare and $150 billion to Medicaid, which would jeopardize patients' access to quality health care and the ability of hospitals to serve their patients and communities.

Cutting Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals could overload emergency rooms, shut down trauma units and reduce patients' access to the latest treatments. Urge your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to make sure that Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals are not cut in any deficit reduction plans. Click here to send messages to your members of Congress.


A response from a health professional:

I would like to urge you that, rather than cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals, that you look into the Medicaid Fraud and abuse that exists through "Medicaid Planning".

Medicaid is being utilized by rich people by placing their estates into OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts and other types of trusts. This allows the rich elderly to shelter their estate so they do not have to pay for private nursing homes, but may be placed into public aid nursing homes instead. This allows their estate to be inherited by their children.

Worse yet, OBRA trusts are being abused in Cook County Probate court guardianship cases. The Office of the Public Guardian places 65% of their wards' estates into OBRA accounts. For profit guardians are doing the same. This is beneficial to the guardian's and attorneys, as the estate then becomes available to them for the billing of attorney's and guardian's fees. Wards' estates are being depleted in this manner. The taxpayers pay for their nursing home beds; nursing home owners, guardians and attorneys profit.

This abuse of Medicaid must stop. We have a shortage of Medicaid beds in IL; this abuse is unacceptable.