By Joe Ragusa
BLOOMINGTON – The Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Program is one of several that will see cuts July 1 if state lawmakers and the governor don’t agree on a budget by then.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said earlier this week the department will raise the Determination of Need score needed to receive benefits from the Community Care Program and enact means testing because no income limits currently exist.
Marsha Johnson, director of the Case Coordination Unit at Community Care Systems, told WJBC’s Terry James the potential cuts could actually cost the state more in the long run even though the senior citizens affected aren’t the neediest.
“If they don’t get the assistance, they don’t maintain (quality of life) and so they decline faster,” Johnson said. “Which means they’ll end up going to nursing homes faster or actually using the emergency rooms, going to more doctor’s appointments and things like that.”
Johnson said roughly 35 percent of clients with Community Care Systems in McLean County could lose benefits.
Other cuts that will take effect July 1 if no budget agreement is reached include the grounding of all state-operated planes and the suspension of funding to the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].
