Leaders of Memorial Hospital met with State Representative Norine Hammond/Senator Neil Anderson, urging them to work with the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) and the hospital community to support healthcare by passing several bills that will increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for hospitals, help deter violence against healthcare workers, and address staffing challenges to ensure hospitals can continue to provide access to quality healthcare for patients in all Illinois communities.
They were among more than 80 leaders of hospitals and health systems from across the state who were at the State Capitol in Springfield on April 19 for Hospital Advocacy Day organized by the IHA.
“Thank you to State Representative Norine Hammond and Senator Neil Anderson for meeting with us to listen to the critical healthcare needs of our patients and communities,” said Rena Willey, Director of Revenue Cycle at Memorial Hospital. “We are hopeful that the General Assembly will work with us to address the growing fiscal pressures, violence against healthcare workers, and staffing shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Working together, we can tackle these challenges and continue our commitment to providing safe, quality healthcare for all.”
During the meeting, Willey, Carmalitta Baum, Director of Care Coordination; Chaka Batley, Director of Behavioral Health Services; Stephanie Kelly, Lead Health Information Specialist; Cynthia Stewart, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations; Shelly Fox, Grant Administrator; and Raigan Brown, Chief Nursing Officer pointed out that Memorial Hospital and hospitals across the state need members of the Illinois General Assembly to vote in support of the following healthcare bills:
Senate Bill 1763, sponsored by Sen. Ann Gillespie (D – Arlington Heights) and Sen. Dave Syverson (R- Rockford), advances a 20% across-the-board increase to hospital Medicaid reimbursement rates. This increased state investment in Illinois hospitals would be the first in 28 years, advancing critical funding necessary to protect access to care for some of the state’s most vulnerable patients.
To deter the increasingly vicious physical, emotional and verbal attacks against healthcare workers, IHA introduced Senate Bill 1863 to make it clear that those who harm healthcare professionals will be held accountable under law. The commonsense bipartisan legislation, sponsored by Sen. John F. Curran (R-Lemont) and Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago), includes violence against a healthcare worker in a healthcare setting as an aggravating factor a judge can consider during sentencing.
House Bill 559, sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Highwood), allows providers holding temporary out-of-state licenses the opportunity to apply for a permanent Illinois license and to continue to work for up to an additional 12 months until the Illinois Dept. of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issues the permanent license or denies the application.
Hospital and healthcare system leaders also urged members of the Illinois General Assembly to oppose mandatory, one-size-fits all nurse staffing ratios in Illinois. Healthcare leaders say mandatory staffing ratios are an excessive overreach that will create real barriers to care for hospitals and health systems working to best serve their patients and communities.
Hospital Advocacy Day is an opportunity for hospital and health system leaders from communities throughout the state to meet face-to-face with legislators and share first-hand how legislation will impact their organizations and the patients they serve.
Statewide, hospitals and health systems are major job creators and economic engines in their communities, generating more than 490,000 direct and indirect jobs with an economic impact of more than $108 billion a year.
#####
Pictured from left to right: Carmalitta Baum, Director of Care Coordination; Chaka Batley, Director of Behavioral Health Services; Stephanie Kelly, Lead Health Information Specialist; Rena Willey, Director of Revenue Cycle; Cynthia Stewart, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations; Shelly Fox, Grant Administrator; and Raigan Brown, Chief Nursing Officer.
