(The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers are having discussions about medical obligations and payment backlogs that continue to plague the state’s College Insurance Program.
Funding problems were discussed Wednesday during a joint meeting of the House Appropriations-Higher Education and Personnel and Pensions committees.
Illinois’ College Insurance Program is dealing with a $50 million loan to go along with a $38 million deficit.
Colm Brewer of Illinois Central Management Services offered long-term projections.
“In very early fiscal year 2033, I’m projecting that we will be able to pay off the entire backlog of bills. We will be able to pay back the $50 million. I expect that to start in [fiscal year 2028], paying back approximately $12.5 million each fiscal year, finalizing that last payment by fiscal 2032,” Brewer said. “At that point, we believe the revenues should keep the fund in a substantially good condition going forward from there.”
State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, said good benefits don’t help patients if doctors won’t accept them.
State Rep. Paul Jacobs, R-Pomona, is an optometric physician. He said he did not get paid for years.
“We are getting paid better now, but I have surgeons that I refer to that will not accept any state employees from whatever retirement system there is,” Jacobs said.
Kari Wolfe, deputy director for the Illinois Central Management Services Bureau of Benefits, said the “significant” financial difficulties date back years and stem from the program’s funding formula.
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, said there needs to be more public accounting so legislators can do better going forward.
“I think we can all agree. I think everybody is in agreement here that this is a mess, and the people that are paying the price for it are not responsible for that mess,” Gong-Gershowitz said.
State Rep. Steven Reick, R-Woodstock, said the problem will not be solved if lawmakers stay on the same path.
“This is not just an issue of the pensions. This is an issue of every dollar spent and every dollar raised from the taxpayers of Illinois, and it’s spent by us on things that are, in many ways, redundant, in many ways are non-sustainable and in many ways are easily ignored by putting them off to a future General Assembly,” Reick said.
