La Rabida Children’s Hospital says threatened cuts to Medicaid would have a dire impact on the population of kids they serve. The effect could impact kids with disabilities and complex medical conditions in Chicago and across the area.
The CEO of La Rabida Children’s Hospital said that nine out of 10 kids rely on Medicaid for their treatment, and if they’re unable to care for them, many of them would have to take up beds in pediatric or neonatal intensive care units across the area.
Every year, La Rabida Children’s Hospital at 6501 S. Promontory Dr. in Jackson Park serves about 9,000 kids
“It’s a hospital that helps kids sail the waters of healing and hope.”
Living with complex conditions, disabilities, and chronic illnesses.
About 90% of kids rely on Medicaid, the joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs. However, a budget resolution passed by House Republicans last week could jeopardize that coverage. It instructs the committee that oversees Medicaid to identify at least $880 billion in mandatory spending cuts over the next 10 years.
Democratic lawmakers say it would likely strip coverage for more than 700,000 Illinois residents.
“We have to be able to figure out how do we continue to deliver care,” said Rolla Sweis, President & CEO of La Rabida Children’s Hospital
Sweis said 19% of the households in their primary service area are below the poverty level, and any cuts to Medicaid would impact patients’ eligibility and may reduce already low payment rates for providers.
“The patients that we have here would end up taking up beds in the PICUs and NICUs in the other children’s hospitals, which then would limit access for other patients and then would prolong emergency department visits,” Sweis said.
It’s not just La Rabida.
Dr. Jon Radosta is the Chief Medical Officer at UI Health
“A large portion of our patients depend on Medicaid,” he said.
Radosta warned that cuts to Medicaid could cause them to close their doors. About 59% of their in-patient population relies on the coverage for care, including preventative care.
“Medicaid is the single largest payer for mental health services in the United States,” he said.
Approximately one in four Illinoisans are covered by Medicaid, with 1.4 million of them being children.
Both hospitals hope the most vulnerable populations are considered moving forward.
“I do hope, as a State we’ll be able to have a strategy to be able to address that if there are going to be cuts, so we’ll see,” Sweis said.
President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers have pledged that the focus of cuts will be to root out fraud. They still have to craft a separate bill that lays out what specific programs should be cut.
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