* Jared Rutecki at WTTW…
Medicaid cuts enacted by a sweeping federal rescission bill are sounding alarms for Illinois health professionals, who warn the move could gut insurance coverage, strain already overburdened hospitals and deepen access issues in rural Illinois and across the state.
Reductions to Medicaid, a public health insurance program for families and individuals with low incomes and limited resources, are expected to affect services and facilities across the state. Medicaid benefits are often used by middle-class families needing long-term or specialty care. The reduced budget is expected to impact rural and safety net hospitals. […]
The problems would only grow if the cuts lead to hospital closures.
Recent figures estimate 330,000 Illinois residents could lose health coverage under the plan. Many who spoke with WTTW News said the law will lead more uninsured patients to seek emergency care, often with advanced conditions. […]
The Congressional Budget Office identified a drop of more than $1 trillion in health care spending from the law referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. CBO, which provides nonpartisan information to Congress, projected the bill would increase the number of people without insurance by 10 million in 2034, as well as increase the budget deficit by $3.4 trillion.
The story is far more comprehensive than this snippet would indicate, so click here and read the rest.
* Three other points not mentioned:
1) While many of the Medicaid cuts don’t officially take effect until shortly after the 2026 election, most hospitals cannot wait until the deadline to take defensive action. They are almost all rather large businesses (often the biggest employers in Downstate cities). Large businesses cannot turn on a dime. So, as I told subscribers last month, we can expect layoffs (which hospital leaders say are already happening) and closures ahead of the election.
2) Illinois submitted a plan late last year to increase its hospital assessment by a billion dollars, which will net the facilities almost $1.5 billion. If that assessment is not approved by the feds, we’re gonna see a big problem really soon. The plan also results in a $90 million “rake” for Illinois’ General Funds budget. A new hole is not something the Pritzker administration needs.
3) That CBO estimate of a $1 trillion cut to health care spending will undercut one of the country’s only economic bright spots, according to the latest jobs report…
The U.S. labor market’s reliance on healthcare for job creation hit eye-catching levels last month.
Though the overall market cooled in July, healthcare remained a bright spot by accounting for the majority of job gains, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The industry created 55,400 of the 73,000 jobs across all sectors, representing 76% of job growth in the country. Healthcare’s total surpassed the 39,200 jobs it added in June and was above its average monthly gain of 42,000 jobs over the past 12 months.
Ambulatory health care services drove the bulk of the industry’s growth with 33,600 jobs added, while hospitals provided 16,000 and nursing and residential care facilities contributed 5,800.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 10:51 am:
When the hospitals are all closed downstate, remember that this is what they voted for. Instead of sending them money so they can call us “commies” and wave their guns at us, put Chicago’s tax dollars towards something with an actual positive ROI.
- Brandon - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 11:17 am:
Agreed. There should be zero bail out for the people in counties that voted for this. Instead, it needs to be blasted across all media types why this happened to them and make sure the blame is known loud and clear.
- Homebody - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 11:28 am:
I am legitimately curious if anyone knows of any policy that has been primarily championed by the GOP and opposed by Dems that has had expressly positive impact for anyone other than the already rich?
The closest I can think of is just by default having fewer building regulations (for those who are in favor of making it easier to build additional housing).
- OneMan - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 11:36 am:
If you “go read the rest” as Rich suggests, and encounter the list of hospitals, keep in mind that several of them have significant pediatric operations and even pediatric hospitals, such as Christ Advocate and Lutheran General.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 11:50 am:
@OneMan
All the more reason to not be sending bailouts downstate.
- Allknowingmasterofraccoondom - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 11:51 am:
This, by far is one of the most cruel results of this administrations policies. Hard to watch.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 12:01 pm:
The GOP and its allies have been working to eliminate Medicaid since its creation by Democrats during the Johnson administration. This is what that “victory” looks like. Elections have consequences.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 12:45 pm:
Hospitals? Where we’re going — we don’t need hospitals!
I see a lot of comments here from folks who have opinions that I often respect and offer insightful views on a lot of issues, but I will caution them this. Being forced to suffer the consequences of how they voted will not create a political environment where people who supported the people responsible for this agenda wholeheartedly will accept responsibility for the awful outcomes they have experienced.
This will not occur in a political universe where there will be political messaging and outright propaganda that encourages them to think otherwise. Rubbing their noses in it or attempting to rub their noses in it may destroy any opportunity to foster support for leaders that believe in the basic dignity and basic rights of their fellow human beings.
A lot of these folks are voting how they’re told to vote by sources they trust for reasons that they do not over analyze. Accept that they eat Applejacks even though it does not taste like apples and find a better way to convince them to something better than Applejacks than constantly telling them it does not taste like apples.
The right wing will lie to them. The right wing will scapegoat. The right wing steal your future from you right in front of your faces and blame an international conspiracy against you that only they can stop.
Don’t expect hundreds of thousands of our fellow Illinoisans to suddenly be able to accept responsibility for their actions when someone else is there to tell them how it is Chicago’s fault. How it is the Governor’s fault. If that doesn’t work, the racism and antisemitism will just get less coded.
Hatred is easier than taking responsibility.
- Ares - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 12:55 pm:
Two related items of note:
- Shortages of MDs / DOs will worsen, due to inadequate funding from Medicare to cover the cost of residencies after medical school / osteopathic school. Add in an aging Boomer population, and we have a recipe for major problems.
- A recent Crains article noted that half of anesthesiology providers are not MDs or DOs with the extensive residency training. What is the situation with other specialties, especially Downstate?
- Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 1:20 pm:
Candy D- very thoughtful comments thanks. Have to disagree a bit. Nose rubbing is appropriate sometimes. It doesn’t much apply to the hospital situation, but sometimes you have to remind people that they got what they asked for.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 1:27 pm:
@Candy
These people have proven their commitment to avoiding both learning and basic decency. It’s got nothing to do with teaching them anything. You can’t teach them any more than you can teach a coyote or a wasp. It’s simply a matter of using our resources to protect ourselves from them.
- Next Level - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 1:43 pm:
=All the more reason to not be sending bailouts downstate.=
Do you know what “pediatric” means? If so, you’re saying infants and children should suffer for their parent’s voting. That is sick and twisted.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 1:58 pm:
Candy,
Well put. I don’t think I could have expressed it better.
What can you say about a party that puts a roadkill-eating, anti-vaxxer in charge of health care, who cuts funds for cancer research?
How can you Make America Healthy Again by eliminating health care and food for poor children? It’s so infuriating you can’t wrap your mind around it.
Those of us downstate who DIDN’T vote for this get to suffer as well.
Up is down. Black is white. Crazy is sane. Can America ever recover from this?
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:22 pm:
It’s not just MAGA who voted for this, it’s also those on the left who wanted to punish Biden and Harris for Gaza. Are they punished yet? Both are multimillionaires with health insurance and can afford their medical expenses. It really shows how some on the left really feel about the poor and sick, when they are sacrificed for ideological purity.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:26 pm:
===It’s simply a matter of using our resources to protect ourselves from them. ===
I think what I was trying to get at is that such a strategy does not protect anyone from “them.” We would be further worsening our own circumstances by helping to assemble an angry mob waiting for a nationalism or other breed of extremist to get in front of them.
If we do not hang together, we hang separately — well if we don’t hang together some of those who we turned away from us may form the mob that hangs us.
===Nose rubbing is appropriate sometimes. ===
No one’s uncle has been convinced of anything by being reminded how wrong they have been about everything at Thanksgiving.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:31 pm:
This is not a “both sides” problem. Exactly one side voted to kill kids, and they won.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:32 pm:
@Next
I know the pediatric hospital in question is in Chicagoland, so it would be one of the ones that I indicated should be saved.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:40 pm:
@Candy
That’s basically just saying if we don’t empty our pockets for them and let them kill us, they might kill us and empty our pockets. They’re already a mob trying to hang us.
- low level - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 2:57 pm:
==It’s not just MAGA who voted for this, it’s also those on the left who wanted to punish Biden and Harris ==
Grandson of Man is 1000000000% spot on. I wonder if those on the far out left are satisfied yet?
- Excitable Boy - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 3:31 pm:
- There should be zero bail out for the people in counties that voted for this. -
My parents live in a county that went for Trump by a huge margin, and they voted against him. Try not painting everyone to the south of you with the same brush.
- Horace - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 3:40 pm:
@Excitable
Take it up with your parents’ neighbors. We didn’t start the fire.
- old guy - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 3:45 pm:
Candy and Homebody both nailed it.
- This Just In - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 4:17 pm:
Agree that the suggestions of punitive attitudes towards those who “voted” for policies is short sighted and counter productive.
It is a travesty that some voted for our current national leadership.
It is also most unfortunate that folks voted for those who brought fiscal calamity to the City across the board. Hatred and contempt for either group solves little.
Less hate and more listening to understand is a wonderful place to start.