South Cook News

State Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) praised the bipartisan cooperation that made passage of legislation that uses $250 million federal funds into the Illinois health care industry. 

The legislation, which renewed the Hospital Assessment Program with the additional federal funding for equipment, helps hospitals around the state handle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Sycamore lawmaker said in a news release in July. The legislation covers $3.8 billion in spending, with $250 million in added federal funding that comes as part of a $450 million increase over the assessment from four years ago.

“Our commitment to meeting the needs of our hospitals is one example of both parties working together to achieve results that have a direct impact on people’s lives,” Keicher said in the release. “Health care is such an important issue for every local family here in northern Illinois and across the state.”

Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) | Courtesy Photo

The Illinois governor signed the legislation on July 7. 

Keicher said he was proud to lend his support to a bill that servers the, “dedicated men and women of our health care industry on the frontlines of treating patients each and every day.”

While the bill prioritizes hospitals serving a high number of Medicaid patients, the release stated that the Legislature, stakeholders and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services cooperated on crafting the legislation that increased funding to all hospitals across the state.

“With this forward-looking program, we are advancing our focus on better healthcare and greater health equity,” Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Theresa Eagleson is said in the release. “We are bringing in significant and vital new funding to safety-net hospitals and others that serve high percentages of Medicaid members.”

The legislation will also make payments to hospitals more transparent while still simplifying the billing system for some services, according to the release.