A handful of Illinois-based nursing homes sued the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services on Friday, saying low Medicaid rates are jeopardizing their ability to provide adequate quality of care, Reuters reported. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, five groups that jointly operate more than 100 skilled nursing facilities across the state said Illinois’ reimbursement rates and methodologies violated certain requirements under the Medicaid Act. An impasse between Illinois’ Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature left the state without a complete budget for an unprecedented two fiscal years. Lawmakers enacted a fiscal 2018 budget in July, but the state still has a $9.1 billion backlog of unpaid bills to vendors and service providers. CC Care, a Chicago-based skilled nursing home operator, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, saying in court papers that slow, erratic and low Medicaid payments were having a “disastrous effect” on all nursing homes in the state.
