Comment on Fact Check: Rauner arguments for reform don't all add up

By SARA BURNETT, CARLA K. JOHNSON and NICK SWEDBERG, Associated Press, San Antonio Express-News: World
Sun, 02/01/2015 - 12:02pm

Fact Check: Rauner arguments for reform don't all add up

CHICAGO (AP) — As he prepares to deliver his first State of the State address, Gov. Bruce Rauner has been traveling Illinois previewing what are expected to be his first legislative proposals, saying the state's dire financial situation is cause for cutting Medicaid and public-employee salaries and making Illinois more hospitable to businesses. [...] Washington paid for most of that increase. To improve access for the poor, the nation's new health law expanded Medicaid eligibility and increased rates for primary care doctors treating low-income patients. [...] Illinois spends less per Medicaid enrollee than the national average and less per enrollee than any of its neighboring states. Rauner said state employee salaries are about 22 percent more than worker salaries in the private sector, and that the average salary for Illinois government employees is third-highest in the country. [...] the bureau advises against comparing its numbers for public and private sector pay since it didn't consider education and other demographic factors. Rauner's claim about the average government employee salary being the third highest checks out, with the average Illinois state worker making $63,669 in 2012, according to the Pew center. The cost of workers' compensation insurance is one of the main complaints Rauner said he's heard from Illinois business owners, noting the state ranks 7th nationwide for the highest cost per $100 of salary. Lawmakers approved changes to the law in 2011 that were designed to decrease costs, and the state Department of Insurance says the rates employers pay have fallen significantly.

 

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