(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Gov. JB Pritzker expresses concern amid the Trump administration's threats to slash the Affordable Care Act expansion.
Pritzker said cutting The Affordable Care Act expansion would be "devastating" for 770,000 Illinoisans who rely on Medicaid.
"If Donald Trump and the Republican Congress eliminate the Medicaid expansion, we will have people who get sick and die because they don't have coverage from that Medicaid expansion," Pritzker said.
The Democrat also spoke about the effects on the health care system.
"It's devastating for the people who will lose coverage, not to mention for rural hospitals across the state, not to mention for safety net hospitals represented some here, like Chicago Sinai."
Pritzker said he's been in discussions with the state's congressional delegation about the recently-passed House Republican budget bill, which suggests possible cuts to Medicaid.
"Our delegation is well aware of that, and they are working very hard to try to prevent that and they all voted against the budget that the Republicans passed."
He says he also had a productive conversation with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the nearly $1.9 billion in federal funds still owed to the state.
Pritzker and members of the Illinois congressional delegation sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), demanding answers about the nearly $1.9 billion in federal funds.
"We've not gotten a response from OMB to that letter. We are taking action with regard to a lot of the matters that are covered by the letter. But it all is a part of a broader problem, which is virtually every day or every week, we're hearing from the agencies that we operate for state government that some program has essentially been turned off."
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