Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers his State of the State and budget address in front of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, left, and Senate President Don Harmon before the General Assembly at the Illinois Capitol on Feb. 21, 2024. , Gov J.B. Pritzker unveiled plans to hold accountable health insurance companies that put lower costs ahead of patient care.
Prior to Pritzker being elected governor, the state began to shift the Medicaid reimbursement process to a managed care system — essentially, turning over to private firms what the state used to do. In a nutshell: It has allowed for-profit companies earning billions of dollars off taxpayers to make decisions about how and when to reimburse hospitals for Medicaid services. Naturally, the hospitals that rely most on Medicaid reimbursement are most affected.
This is no way to provide care to the underserved communities our governor and many other elected officials in the state and in Chicago purport to represent. Isn’t that what they remind us? That they speak for this population? That health care is a human right? That health equity is their top priority?