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Of the 3.6 million Illinoisans covered by Medicaid, 42% are children, 7% are people with disabilities, 8% are seniors and 43% are other adults. Over half of individuals with Medicaid coverage are disproportionately people of color.

Illinois hospitals have been working to close racial and ethnic gaps in access to care and patient outcomes for years, adopting programs to identify and address risk factors—social, economic and environmental conditions that impact health outcomes—and offering free services such as transportation, among other initiatives.

When the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the urgent need to reduce health disparities, Illinois hospitals redoubled their efforts. Now, as hospitals face dire financial distress, their significant investments in health equity are being threatened by dramatically higher operating costs.

Because Medicaid is the state’s largest health insurer, Illinois hospitals are urging legislators to pass Senate Bill 1763 to increase the General Revenue Fund (GRF) portion of Medicaid hospital rates, which funds less than 18% of hospital Medicaid spending, while hospitals fund over 22% through an assessment tax.

Passing SB 1763 would bring a much-needed 20% across-the-board increase to hospital Medicaid base rates, helping reduce health disparities by improving equity in funding for hospital care. Please support SB 1763 for the first GRF Medicaid hospital rate increase in 28 years. Discover the facts to learn more.