Officials hope the expansion will cover a projected $152 million shortfall and hold steady taxpayers’ annual subsidy.
Under the federal healthcare overhaul, the Medicaid expansion would require the county care for patients for a fixed fee of $300 per recipient per month. Cook County Health will also need to add 200 employees to accommodate the projected 1150,000 new patients.
The expansion is part of compliance with the new federal healthcare law. Officials also hope to reverse the decrease in Medicaid patients in the last year. Cook County’s revenue from the program dipped 40 percent, to $84 million, during the past eight months. That’s down from $140 million budgeted for that period at the start of the fiscal year.
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