Full Text of SR0480 100th General Assembly
SR0480 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Founded in 1995, the Family Health Network (FHN) | 3 | | is the only not-for-profit managed care organization in | 4 | | Illinois; FHN ensures quality healthcare for the underserved | 5 | | minority communities of Cook County through a care network in | 6 | | coordination with FHN's five director hospitals; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, FHN is directed by five Illinois Disproportionate | 8 | | Share Safety Net Hospitals: Saint Anthony's Hospital, the | 9 | | Norwegian American Hospital, St. Bernard Hospital, the Sinai | 10 | | Health System, and Presence Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth | 11 | | Hospital; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, FHN's status as a not-for-profit affords it the | 13 | | ability to direct its profits to supplement the operational | 14 | | budget of its five Hospital Directors instead of that money | 15 | | going into profits of private insurance companies such as other | 16 | | Illinois Medicaid HMOs; in some cases resulting in 10%-15% of | 17 | | the operating budget for the five FHN supported Safety Net | 18 | | Hospitals; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, FHN's revenue distribution accounts for 10% to 15% | 20 | | of the operating budget for these five FHN supported Safety Net | 21 | | Hospitals; this revenue is critically needed to meet the | 22 | | financial obligations of the hospitals in meeting the |
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| 1 | | healthcare needs of more than 250,000 poor Latino and African | 2 | | American Illinois citizens; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Since Medicaid Managed Care replaced traditional | 4 | | fee-for-service for most of the Illinois Medicaid population, | 5 | | these hospitals have seen a nearly 10% reduction in revenue for | 6 | | the same services performed because of claim denials and added | 7 | | costs, both for the benefit of the for-profit insurance | 8 | | companies instead of the poor people the program is designed to | 9 | | help; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, On February 27, 2017, the Department of Health and | 11 | | Family Services (DHFS) released a Medicaid managed care RFP for | 12 | | a Purchase of Care Contract to arbitrarily narrow the number of | 13 | | managed care organizations contracted in the State; the RFP for | 14 | | a Purchase of Care Contract was released without input from | 15 | | healthcare providers, the General Assembly, or advocates for | 16 | | the underserved communities; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, This RFP for a Purchase of Care Contract comes at | 18 | | a time of fiscal and regulatory uncertainty on healthcare and | 19 | | the Affordable Care Act in Washington as President Donald Trump | 20 | | calls to radically overturn Medicaid, putting healthcare at | 21 | | risk for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, both documented | 22 | | and undocumented children and adults; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The State currently owes FHN more than $260 | 2 | | million, severely stressing the financial viability of FHN and | 3 | | the financial health of their safety net directors; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The RFP for a Purchase of Care Contract | 5 | | arbitrarily requires all non-exempted respondents to provide | 6 | | statewide care network even though under its current contract | 7 | | with the State, FHN is only required to provide a Cook County | 8 | | network; FHN's current Cook County network provides care for | 9 | | more than 250,000 Medicaid recipients; this radical and highly | 10 | | questionable new statewide requirement was put forward with no | 11 | | explanation from DHFS; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, If FHN is no longer contracted to provide care for | 13 | | the 250,000 Latino and African-American Illinoisans, these | 14 | | communities will have severely reduced access to critical | 15 | | healthcare, forcing the closure of Illinois-only | 16 | | not-for-profit managed care organizations; the only benefactor | 17 | | of this change will be the profit margin of the for-profit | 18 | | insurance companies bidding to replace FHN, displacing | 19 | | thousands of minority and poor healthcare recipients; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Excluding FHN from the Medicaid program in Cook | 21 | | County will severely jeopardize the five safety-net hospitals | 22 | | and the 4,000 employees who operate these essential community | 23 | | anchors; there failures would cause a dramatic negative |
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| 1 | | economic and social impact on their southside and westside | 2 | | communities; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The General Assembly has the duty to appropriate | 4 | | expenditures from public funds, including the estimated $9 | 5 | | billion per year RFP for a Purchase of Care Contract resulting | 6 | | in $54 Billion in expenditures over the six-year potential | 7 | | contract term; the General Assembly also has the duty to review | 8 | | actions that have the potential to cause negative impact on the | 9 | | lives of the residents of Illinois through questionable | 10 | | executive branch decisions whether the questions arise from | 11 | | policy or ethical concerns; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Department | 14 | | of Health and Family Services to immediately suspend the | 15 | | Medicaid managed care RFP for a Purchase of Care Contract for | 16 | | review by the General Assembly to allow for transparency and | 17 | | assurance of non-discriminatory actions and fair competition | 18 | | for all sizes and business models of managed care | 19 | | organizations; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That the General Assembly should convene the | 21 | | Special Committee on Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care to meet | 22 | | as soon as possible to review the RFP for a Purchase of Care | 23 | | Contract and seek answers from the Director of Healthcare and |
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| 1 | | Family Services, the Procurement Policy Board, the Office of | 2 | | Inspector General, the Illinois Attorney General, and the | 3 | | individual in charge of the Medicaid managed care RFP for a | 4 | | Purchase of Care Contract; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the DHFS to cooperate and | 6 | | participate in this review to avoid the appearance of | 7 | | impropriety and unethical actions related to the RFP for a | 8 | | Purchase of Care Contract process as well as to provide a | 9 | | positive outcome for the residents of Illinois; and be it | 10 | | further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 12 | | delivered to the Governor, the Director of Healthcare and | 13 | | Family Services, and all members of the Illinois General | 14 | | Assembly.
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