Illinois must now invest more in the state’s community health centers

What defines a neighborhood? Protected housing, dependable transportation, academic alternatives, wholesome meals entry, high quality well being care? On the Illinois Main Well being Care Affiliation, we imagine it’s all these issues, and far more, beginning with whole-person, accessible well being care. 

Group well being facilities throughout Illinois, from our largest cities to our most rural areas, witness every of the challenges skilled by their sufferers on daily basis. We have now recognized it for years, however the pandemic put an essential highlight on a obvious fact: In our underserved communities, high-quality, inexpensive well being care is sorely wanted — now greater than ever.  

This spring, we’re taking motion on the Illinois State Capitol. Within the current run of robust state revenues, Illinois leaders have repeatedly and generously invested in core well being care companies and social service packages. And neighborhood well being facilities have been grateful to be a precedence.

We at the moment are urging the Illinois Legislature to make continued investments in neighborhood well being facilities by way of two essential initiatives.  

First, now we have targeted on behavioral well being care, which is the mix of psychological well being companies and substance use remedy. Behavioral well being companies are a precedence at each well being heart. But, regardless of current developments, practically 10 million Illinoisans reside in a scarcity space for this essential care. 

Senate Invoice 1816 and Home Invoice 3049, sponsored by state Sen. Ann Gillespie and state Rep. Theresa Mah, broaden the listing of suppliers whose companies could be reimbursed to incorporate graduate-level, subclinical behavioral well being professionals training underneath licensed clinicians. This laws would permit well being facilities throughout Illinois to rent 175 new suppliers, serve an estimated 72,000 new sufferers, and provide new, much-needed companies

Second, neighborhood well being facilities are drastically underfunded regardless of a federal legislation from a long time in the past calling for specified funding to fulfill shortfalls in Medicaid as a result of on the time when that system was created, Medicaid lined roughly 70 p.c of the price of offering affected person care. Right this moment, regardless of that specified funding system, our Medicaid reimbursement covers solely about 60 p.c of our prices. Extra have to be executed to shore up reimbursement for care at neighborhood well being facilities — the biggest community of major care suppliers in underserved communities.  

Our fee improve laws is Senate Invoice 1888 and Home Invoice 2298, sponsored by state Sen. Robert Peters and State Rep. Anna Moeller. By passing this laws, neighborhood well being facilities might serve an extra 180,000 sufferers every year, rent practically 250 extra suppliers, and improve substance use remedy, dental companies, transportation, imaginative and prescient care, and extra with an infusion of $100 million — $50 million of which might be lined by federal price sharing.  

To drive the purpose residence additional, neighborhood well being facilities in our neighboring states obtain reimbursement charges which are roughly 80 p.c larger than Illinois’ charges. Meaning for each $100 our facilities obtain in reimbursement, well being facilities in these states obtain roughly $180. And in behavioral well being care, our fee is commonly solely one-third the quantity of a few of our neighbors — hindering our capability to fulfill the demand for care.  

If we realized something through the pandemic, it’s that we’re all more healthy when our neighbors are more healthy. Collectively, these two cheap measures will allow extra individuals to get the care they should reside nicely and higher equip our communities to thrive.  

Ollie Idowu, president and CEO, Illinois Main Well being Care Affiliation

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