PARK FOREST — To show appreciation to health-care workers and support local businesses at the same time, State Senator Patrick Joyce (D-Essex) and United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties are announcing Project Full Circle, which will provide health-care workers with gift certificates to local restaurants.
Each donation of $10 provides a $10 gift card from a local restaurant to feed one frontline hero.
“Many of these selfless folks are working very irregular hours in order to keep us all safe,” Joyce said. “The least we can do is make sure they have access to hot meals when they get a chance to rest.”
Gift cards will be purchased from local restaurants that are members of the Kankakee Chamber of Commerce and given to health-care workers at Riverside Healthcare, AMITA St. Mary's Hospital, Shapiro Developmental Center, and the Kankakee Health Department.
“While COVID-19 brings new and greater challenges for many of us, our community has an opportunity to show unity, solidarity and humanity,” United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois counties Executive Director Kerstin Rust said. “Through small acts of generosity, we can support health-care workers who put themselves in high-risk situations to keep our community healthy. They take care of us. Now, let us take care of them.”
To donate please visit: https://www.myunitedway.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=14
SPRINGFIELD – Delays and denials for health care are a growing concern for patients across the country as insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers add barriers and even longer times to receive care. Senate Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is sponsoring legislation with reforms to streamline this process and improve transparency.
“Extra paperwork and delays for treatment are a hassle and distraction to those of us seeking routine or emergent procedures and treatment, and to our health care providers as well,” Holmes said. “The Prior Authorization Reform Act will take down obstacles, get patients the care they need more quickly and save them money.”
SPRINGFIELD – The Trump administration announced Thursday its intention to overhaul Medicaid funding. In response, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago), fearing for the wellbeing of the millions of people who rely on Medicaid to receive health care, released the following statement:
“Donald Trump is once again showing how out of touch he is by proposing cuts to a program that an overwhelming majority of Americans support. This is yet another attack by the president against the most vulnerable people in our communities.”
Under current federal law, states are reimbursed a set percentage for Medicaid spending by the federal government based on per-capita income. The announced plan gives states the option to receive Medicaid funding as a set amount in one lump sum irrespective of how much they actually spend in a given fiscal year.
SPRINGFIELD—State Senator Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement after the Reproductive Health Act was signed into law Wednesday:“The historic step we took today will protect women’s access to safe, legal reproductive health care for years to come. I am proud that we took a stand to ensure that the people of Illinois are able to make the very personal decision of whether or not to become a parent.
SPRINGFIELD – State Senator John G. Mulroe issued the following statement as Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law the Reproductive Health Act (RHA):
“It’s wrong to say that the attacks on women’s health care in other states are ‘unprecedented,’ because there is an overwhelming amount of precedent when it comes to the suffering of women who are denied the most basic of rights over their own bodies. The RHA undoes long-overturned laws that read like dystopian fiction and ensures that a woman’s course of action in regard to her own health is her choice with her doctor’s guidance.
SPRINGFIELD – The Reproductive Health Act, which repeals outdated abortion laws that have been blocked by the courts and ensures that reproductive health care is treated like all other health care and not as a crime, was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker this morning.
“The Reproductive Health Act sends a clear message that we trust women to make their own decisions,” said State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake), chief sponsor of Senate Bill 25. “Women can now rest assured that regardless of what happens at the federal level, they will have access to comprehensive reproductive health care here in Illinois.”
PANA – Senator Andy Manar toured Pana Community Hospital and the site of its $20.1 million expansion project, currently under construction.
The visit was part of his district-wide health care listening tour, during which he met with local hospital leaders to learn more about the challenges they face in providing health care in central Illinois, as well as suggestions they have for regulatory changes that could be addressed through legislation.
“I continue to be impressed by the hard work, innovation and leadership that occur every day at Pana Community Hospital,” Manar said. “The institution’s roots in Pana run deep, and I’m excited that it continues to expand and invest in the people who live here by offering the finest health care, good-paying jobs and excellent community stewardship.”
Manar met with Trina Casner, hospital president and CEO; James Moon, hospital chief financial officer; Carol Schramm, hospital board chairman; and Dave Slater, hospital board member.
Casner led Manar on a tour of the hospital and the site where workers have begun construction of an addition to the hospital, its first major expansion in decades.
“We’re thankful Senator Manar took the time to visit Pana Community Hospital and appreciate his support of rural health care providers,” Casner said. “It is important to be able to sit down with our elected officials to voice concerns and struggles we face in providing quality health care in a rural setting. It was also exciting to share plans for our building project and show the senator our plans for the future.”
Manar visited the hospital on Nov. 29.
The tour, which included stops at every hospital and federally qualified health center in the 48th Senate District, highlighted the importance of rural health care in Illinois and called attention to the need for continued investment in this vital sector of the economy.
Significant topics of discussion among the hospitals and clinics were:
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By the numbers
According to the Illinois Hospital Association, hospitals in the 48th Senate District employ 9,043 full-time equivalent employees and have a combined payroll of nearly $685 million.
More than 22,000 additional jobs are created as a result of hospitals operating in the district.
Hospital spending on payroll, other goods and services, and capital projects – combined with the additional jobs the institutions support – have a total economic impact of $4.15 billion on the 48th Senate District and on the state economy.
SPRINGFIELD – A measure sponsored by State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, that would protect health insurance plan participants from drastic and disruptive changes to coverage networks was signed into law today.
“With what is happening with health care at the federal level, we in state government must give people some peace of mind,” Holmes said. “This legislation keeps people updated about their insurance networks and provides some stability for consumers during such a turbulent time for health care.”
The legislation will fix narrow health care provider networks by maintaining standards for access to prevent plan participants from traveling long distances for medical care, keeping network directories up to date, notifying patients of network changes and allowing people with serious health needs to stay with their provider.
The Network Adequacy and Transparency Act has earned broad support from both Republicans and Democrats as well as the American Cancer Society, the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, the Illinois State Medical Society and many other health organizations.
“This legislation is needed because people think they are playing by the rules when purchasing health insurance, but are often in for a surprise when they try to go to a doctor,” said Illinois State Medical Society President Thomas M. Anderson, MD. “Patients may have done their homework and checked that their doctor is in-network, only to show up to their appointment and find out the insurance company website was out-of-date and they won’t get the coverage they were promised.”
The Network Adequacy and Transparency Act, House Bill 311, was signed into law today. It goes into effect January 1, 2018.
SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. Omar Aquino, a Chicago Democrat, emphasized the importance of a balanced, full-year budget in bringing stability and certainty to community healthcare providers in his district and across Illinois. Aquino pointed to the toll that the budget crisis has already taken on Erie Family Health Center, a Chicago safety net healthcare provider that has been forced to work through a wide variety of issues over the last two years.
“I am glad to hear that there is some bipartisan cooperation in state government as we work toward passing a budget,” Aquino said, referring to ongoing negotiations in the Illinois General Assembly.
Failing $94 Million Online Healthcare Contract Excludes Minority Business Opportunity
SPRINGFIELD — Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) today expressed deep concern over an Associated Press report that suggests that Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration took action to purposely exclude state guidelines aimed at encouraging minority-owned business opportunities in an effort to steer a nearly $100 million taxpayer-funded contract to a private company that is charged with creating online efficiency in state employee health insurance processing.
The news story, published on Sunday, highlights that the system was hastily designed and has caused serious difficulties in managing health care records of potentially hundreds of thousands of public employees and retirees. In addition, the investigation exposes the Rauner administration’s efforts to award the massive contract to Georgia-based company Morneau Shepell in what appears to be a favored contractor:
“Documents show CMS staff members were told to proceed without following guidelines for ensuring minority-owned business participation,” the AP story says.
“Bruce Rauner might have purchased the Illinois Republican Party, but he doesn’t own the State of Illinois,” Lightford says. “It’s outrageous to discover that he thinks it’s perfectly legitimate to misuse the trust of taxpayers to skirt rules aimed at giving all qualified businesses an equal playing field.”
Lightford says she is discussing the possibility of utilizing part of Governor Rauner’s 10-day Special Session mandate to conduct a hearing on the failures of the Morneau Shepell contract as well as the procedures and decisions for discarding procurement rules.
“I don’t care if Bruce Rauner doesn’t like the long-established requirements to include and consider minority and woman owned businesses, I care that he decided to simply discard them,” said Lightford. “There’s a need for accountability here and I suspect questions will need good answers. We should do that in a public hearing, not behind the Governor’s preferred closed doors.”
Throughout the past six months a number of news investigations have highlighted serious flaws in the judgement of Rauner officials when it comes to hiring and contracting. Already, the Illinois Senate Appropriations Committees have held in-depth hearings on what appear to be multi-million dollar insider leasing schemes to store supplies like paper in private warehouses.
SPRINGFIELD – President Trump this week signed into law legislation to allow states to withhold family planning funds from women’s health care providers, such as Planned Parenthood.
Earlier this year, State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) joined with her colleagues in the Senate Public Health Committee to block legislation that would have made it more difficult for women to have access to health care from advancing.
“These actions taken by President Trump are just another example of an attempt to strip away women’s access to health care,” Murphy said. “I remain committed to stopping President Trump and his extremist proposals that will set women’s health care decisions back decades.”
Several Senate Democrats spoke out against President Trump’s decision to sign legislation that allows states to withhold federal funds from organizations that offer abortion services.
“This decision has nothing to do with abortion services and has everything to do with restricting women’s access to health care,” State Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) said. “Contrary to popular belief, Title X funds from the federal government cannot be used for abortion services. Instead, they give low-income women access to contraceptives, Pap smears and a host of other preventative health care services.”
State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) stated that “this action reinforces the need to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and ensure that women can no longer be discriminated on the basis of their sex. I will not be complicit to the Executive branch’s agenda. It’s time for Illinois to formally recognize that women have equal rights to men and bring our nation one step closer to ratifying the 28th Amendment.”
SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy on Wednesday helped block a measure that would have made it more difficult for women to access reproductive health care services in Illinois.
Senate Bill 78 would have prevented state agencies from contracting with facilities that perform abortions. Murphy and five other Senate Democrats stopped the legislation from advancing out of the Senate’s Public Health committee.
“At a time when President Trump is attempting to strip away women’s access to health care, we must continue to fight to protect these rights,” said Murphy, a Des Plaines Democrat. “I will continue to stand up to overreaching proposals that set women’s rights back decades.”
The legislation was opposed by Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Men4Choice, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force and other organizations that support women’s health.
Senate Bill 78 failed in committee.
VILLA PARK - According to a recent U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs study, 22 veterans commit suicide every day in this country.
To stop this alarming trend, State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) and the Task Force on Veterans’ Suicide will hear from veterans, health care professionals and community groups to investigate the causes to and prevention of suicides among returning Illinois veterans.
“Every life we save will have an everlasting impact on families across our community and nation,” Cullerton said. “Our mission is clear: we need to reduce all statistics to zero suicides.”
Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) speaks to her personal experience and feelings regarding the healthcare right of conscience act.
Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) speaks to her personal experience and feelings regarding the healthcare right of conscience act.