For locals, search part of fun of hunting Christmas tree
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2013
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ALL-AREA FOOTBALL TEAM
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Jacobs’ Bret Mooney is the Player of the Year Sports, C1
Retail jobs on the rise in McHenry County Business, D1
Billion-dollar questions Hospitals face unknown reimbursements under health law
Huntley parks seeks to add new turf facility Will ask voters in March for $18.75M bond sale By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
Kyle Grillot – kgrillot@shawmedia.com
Registered nurses Madeleine Mason (center) and Mary Sperry talk with Louis Arroyo of McHenry about his vital signs and diet during a consultation in the heart failure center at Centegra Hospital – McHenry. Arroyo visits the center once a month. The Affordable Care Act is changing how providers are paid for their services. If a Medicaid patient requires readmission to a facility within 30 days after discharge from their initial stay, the hospital will not be reimbursed for providing care during either of those events.
Federal officials discourage use of paper health insurance applications. PAGE A2
A potentially costly Medicare assumption was built into the Affordable Care Act that has health care providers anxious for the insurance plans entered into through the new state marketplace to kick in Jan 1. Danny Chun, spokesman for the Illinois Hospital Association, said an $8 billion reduction in Medicare reimbursements for Illinois hospitals – and a $155 billion reduction nationally – will take
By JEFF ENGELHARDT
Inside
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com CRYSTAL LAKE – Illinois hospitals have $8 billion hanging in the balance. If residents without health insurance follow the new law and begin seeking coverage Jan. 1, the potential financial blow could be avoided. But if too many residents continue to go uninsured and opt to pay fines or estimates about how much uninsured patients have cost hospitals are inaccurate, billions could be lost.
See REIMBURSEMENT, page A12
EYE ON THE
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT This is part of an occasional series from the Northwest Herald that will examine the multiple changes to health care in America in 2014 due to the federal Affordable Care Act.
HUNTLEY – The Huntley Park District will ask voters in March to approve $18.75 million in construction bonds to expand its facilities and create a new indoor turf facility. Officials trimmed the voter referendum from earlier this summer, when the Park District Board contemplated a $20 million expansion to include the turf facility and a competitive swimming pool at the Stingray Bay aquatic center. Executive Director Thom Palmer said the outdoor swimming pool would have zapped money for a future indoor swimming pool addition. Residents favored the latter option in the district’s 2010 community survey, Palmer said. “The outdoor pool was always somewhat of a compromise,” Palmer said. “The wisdom is to stay true to the direction of the survey, even if it takes more time.” Voters will decide on the March 18 primary ballot whether to approve the $18.75 million referendum question. Nearly $16 million would go toward the turf facility, with
“If it passes, residents will not see an increase in their current park district property tax bills.” Thom Palmer Huntley Park District’s executive director
See HUNTLEY, page A12
GOP, Dems now face pension vote fallout By KERRY LESTER The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois Republicans have made solving the state’s pension crisis their issue for years, far fewer GOP lawmakers than expected supported the watershed package of reforms passed by the Legislature on Tuesday. Only 15 House Republicans – a third of the 47-member caucus – voted for the $160 billion savings plan that was jointly crafted by Democratic and Republican leg-
porters. “I think everyone feels unhappy about the choice we faced. I don’t think anybody felt there was joy in a yes vote,” said House Democratic Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie. Now that the votes are cast, lawmakers face the consequences in the 2014 election campaign. While legislative leaders would have strategized how to protect vulnerable members from casting a difficult vote, the fallout could have impact on the balance of power in the General
islative leaders, as did 10 of the Senate’s 19 GOP members. With at least one major campaign donor lobbying against the package and concerns about giving Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn a gift for his re-election campaign, Republican leaders in each chamber faced a challenge that grew more complicated as the vote neared. More Democrats, in turn, stepped forward to compensate, even though the plan was bitter medicine for unions representing state workers, their usual allies and campaign sup-
LOCALLY SPEAKING
Assembly if Democrats sacrifice enough seats next year to lose their thin supermajorities in each chamber. The overall Democratic majorities are considered safe given the state’s Democratic drawn political districts. But Democrats hold just slim, three-fifths supermajorities in the House, where they have 71 of 118 seats, and in the Senate, where they hold 40 of 59 seats, giving them veto-proof cushions to pass legislation.
See ELECTIONS, page A12
read•y [red-ee]:
McHENRY
CITY CHANGES RULES FOR SELLERS McHenry recently OK’ed a peddling and solicitation ordinance that faces a potential First Amendment challenge. Under the new ordinance, only organizations and companies located in McHenry’s city limits or that have chapters in the city can go door-to-door, although a preference for city-based businesses was lifted for peddling licenses. For more, see page B1.
Joseph Anderson Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
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CRYSTAL LAKE: Centennial celebration continues at winter festival with iceless skating rink, handmade craft fair. Local, B1
Where to find it Business D1-8 Classified F1-6 Local&Region B1-8
Vol. 28, Issue 342 Lottery Obituaries Opinion
A2 B7 A13
Planit Style Inside Puzzles F3 Sports C1-12
AP photo
Gov. Pat Quinn hands off a pen during the signing of the pension overhaul bill Thursday in Chicago. From left are state Rep. Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside; Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington; Senate GOP leader Sen. Christine Radogno; Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville; Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, and House Speaker Michael Madigan.
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