* Deputy Gov. Andy Manar was on WJPF Morning news yesterday…

Tom Miller: Andy, I’ve been working on a project. I’ve been talking to CEOs of healthcare systems in Southern Illinois. You’ve got these two immigrant health care components that are being pushed off the budget. But those people are still here, and they’re still going to go to the hospital, and hospitals are still required to treat them. What position will that leave those hospitals in?

Manar: I think right there inherently is the foundational reason why the program was created in the first place… The cost of that care has to be born and covered by someone. So any number of conversations are happening today, because that is a reality, Tom. And whether you agree with the program or disagree with the program, the reality is that cost is in the system.

So there may be some avenue to offering further support to free clinics, for example. Which we have a robust system in the state because we haven’t done major cuts. And because we took the step of doing the Medicaid expansion years ago. So that might be one avenue.

I would just tell you today, with just a couple weeks of session left, the question that you just posed is a major question that we have to have a solution to. Because even if the programs go away, the care for children, the care for elderly and seniors, that’s a real thing, especially for children, that needs a solution, and we’re working on that right now. Because what we don’t want is for hospitals to have to essentially eat that cost, because that’s not going to be good for anyone that wants to continue to seek access at their local hospital or any clinic throughout the state.

* I asked for a response from Laura Starr, Director of External Affairs for the free clinic CommunityHealth…

Free & charitable clinics think of ourselves as an essential pillar in the existing safety net system in Illinois. We fill an important gap for those who aren’t able to access care elsewhere. However, even with the support of programs like HBIA/HBIS [two state insurance programs for undocumented immigrants], demand for our services has been increasing over the past few years. We have supported many of those who were bussed up to Chicago from border states, those unable to enroll in HBIA after it closed last year, Ukrainian refugees whose emergency parole programs expired, and folks who lost Medicaid coverage through redetermination. Even with HBIA in place, we already need to expand capacity to meet community needs. To that end, we have just been focused on securing a renewal of our $9 million in the budget.

We will welcome those losing coverage into our care. And we would welcome additional funding from the state to help us do that, especially if it sustainable because the need will be sustained. But we cannot be considered a replacement for HBIA, because we simply cannot scale to meet the enormous need that program fills.

To give you a concrete example, CommunityHealth is the largest clinic in the country, and we serve about 4,000 unique individuals each year. In Cook County, 22,000 people hold HBIA policies. We are all going to do our best, but we simply will not be able to serve everyone.

Thoughts?