The Illinois House has voted to expand Medicaid despite Republican concerns about how to pay for it.
Lawmakers voted 75-37 on Wednesday to restore funding for adult dental and podiatry services. Those services were cut in 2012 as a cost-saving measure.
But State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) says the cuts didn’t save the state money because people wound up in the emergency room, where care is more expensive.
Harris says the additional services will cost about $221 million this year. But he says federal funds will cover some of the expense, making the final cost to taxpayers about $125 million.