News

AQUINO PROTECTS LOCAL HOSPITAL FUNDING

05/03/2017

SPRINGFIELD -- State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, commented on the Rauner administration’s plan to privatize Illinois’ Medicaid program by potentially slashing millions of dollars in funding for local hospitals. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services wants to award a $9 billion per year contract to administer the state’s Medicaid program, essentially privatizing the program. The bidding rules favor large companies that can operate statewide.

Family Health Network (FHN) is owned by five Chicago safety net hospitals including Norwegian American and Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth, both of which are in Aquino’s district. FHN is a not-for-profit healthcare provider that only operates in Cook County, meaning that it is unable to compete for the new contract.

“The governor’s plan could be very bad for both jobs and healthcare in our community,” Aquino said. “By setting up the bidding to benefit massive, for-profit companies, the Rauner administration could potentially rob the two hospitals in my district of a combined $240 million, jeopardizing the good jobs and quality care that they provide. We need to slow this process down so that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services can assess what this means for the community.”

In addition to treating 250,000 Medicaid recipients, the five hospitals of FHN are crucial to their local economies, employing over 4,000 people. FHN hospitals rely on about $600 million from the state every year to provide healthcare for poor people. Without their portion of that funding, the hospitals in Aquino’s district could be forced to make cuts and layoffs.

Aquino is a co-sponsor of Senate Resolution 480, which calls for the General Assembly to investigate the Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ request for proposals for purchase of care contract and asks for the compliance of the Rauner administration.