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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Safety Net hospitals serve a disproportionate
3share of at-risk patients, who are frequently uninsured;
4Critical Access Hospitals serve a vital role for residents in
5rural communities who need access to emergency care; these
6facilities comprise approximately 5% of U.S. hospitals, but in
72017, they provided 17.4% of uncompensated care, totaling $6.7
8billion, and 23% of charity care, which totaled $5.5 billion,
9up from 20% of all charity care and $5.5 billion in overall
10uncompensated care in 2016; and
 
11    WHEREAS, These facilities serve communities in which 22.3
12million individuals live below the poverty line, 9.9 million
13struggle with food insecurity, and three-quarters are
14uninsured or covered by Medicaid or Medicare; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Illinois rapidly expanded Medicaid managed care
16over the past several years, moving from covering 10 percent
17of beneficiaries in parts of the State to two-thirds in every
18county (now 2.2 million beneficiaries); although the
19Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) launched
20the program by its deadline of January 1, 2015, Medicaid
21managed care has failed to realize the promise of increased
22care coordination, improved patient outcomes, greater
23efficiencies, and cost savings; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Hospitals continue to face an overwhelming range
2of challenges that undermine the program, including initial
3claim denial rates that remain high, long payment delays, and
4administrative burdens requiring substantial resources and
5clinical staff time to meet myriad authorization requirements
6imposed by Managed Care Organizations (MCOs); and
 
7    WHEREAS, Claim denials and payment delays are putting
8extreme financial pressure on Safety Net and Critical Access
9hospitals, which jeopardizes access to care for low-income and
10vulnerable communities in urban and rural Illinois; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The COVID-19 public health crisis has highlighted
12health disparities; African American, Hispanic American, and
13Asian American individuals have substantially higher rates of
14infection, hospitalization, and death compared with White
15people; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly has taken steps to
17support Safety Net and Critical Access hospitals, including
18encouraging coordination between Federally Qualified Health
19Centers (FQHCs) and Safety Net hospitals with the goal of
20increasing care coordination, managing chronic diseases, and
21addressing the social determinants of health, permitting
22Health Facilities and Services Review Board (HFSRB) to defer

 

 

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1any pending application to close a hospital for up to 60 days
2from enactment and authorizing a new Hospital Transformation
3Program that invests in systemic health care transformation to
4build a more integrated and coordinated system of care; and
 
5    WHEREAS, There is still much to do to ensure our Safety Net
6and Critical Access Hospitals receive the support they need to
7serve our communities; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
9HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10we will work to ensure that every underserved and
11under-resourced community hospital receives the support it
12needs; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the General Assembly is urged to work with
14Safety Net and Critical Access hospitals to determine how best
15they can be served; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17delivered to all members of the Illinois General Assembly and
18the Governor's Office.