Chicago-based Cook County Health, one of the nation’s largest public health systems, has launched a new website and communications toolkit to educate the public about looming Medicaid eligibility changes — and is positioning the effort as something other health systems could replicate nationally.
The system said some provider groups and associations have already expressed interest in adapting the microsite and communications toolkit for their own Medicaid outreach efforts.
“We sincerely hope other organizations use this as a resource to replicate or build their own materials and information so we can reduce unnecessary coverage loss in 2027,” CEO Erik Mikaitis, MD, told Becker’s.
The initiative, called Get Medicaid Facts, comes as organizations nationwide prepare for Medicaid eligibility changes tied to HR 1, legislation projected to cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next 10 years. Many of the coverage eligibility changes tied to HR 1 are scheduled to begin rolling out in late 2026 and 2027, including new Medicaid work requirements, more frequent eligibility renewals for some enrollees and a narrower definition of which immigrants qualify for coverage. Cook County Health estimates roughly 400,000 Illinois residents could lose coverage because of the changes.
At the same time, Cook County Health leaders said ACA marketplace subsidy expirations that took effect earlier this year have already contributed to coverage losses, reinforcing concerns that safety-net systems could face additional financial and operational strain.
On May 1, Nebraska became the first state to launch Medicaid work requirements under HR 1, while other states are preparing similar rollouts ahead of the broader 2027 compliance deadline.
Dr. Mikaitis said his health system felt the changes called for a proactive approach.
“We were out talking about all of the HR 1 changes and the impacts,” he said. “At first, we framed it around our health system and the broader county and state. As we talked through those changes and impacts, we started taking the position that we’re not helpless in this situation. We’re not just going to sit back and let these changes impact us and see what happens.”
In response, Cook County Health convened the first meeting of its Medicaid Impact Workgroup in 2025, bringing together representatives from state and local agencies, healthcare and social service providers, insurers, businesses, academic institutions and community organizations.
According to the health system, the coalition’s goal is to help eligible Cook County residents maintain Medicaid coverage despite looming federal cuts and policy changes. The workgroup later formed three subgroups focused on communications and education, community collaboration and innovation around caring for uninsured patients.
One of the group’s first major initiatives was Get Medicaid Facts, a microsite and communications toolkit designed to help enrollees, providers, insurers, public agencies and community organizations prepare for the changes.
Dr. Mikaitis said the workgroup was built to extend beyond traditional healthcare stakeholders.
“We had hospitals and health systems, FQHCs, public health departments and payers at the table,” he said. “We also had business leaders, academic leaders, philanthropic organizations and community organizations join the conversation.
“The thinking was that adding those perspectives wouldn’t just help us amplify the message, but would add unique perspectives so the outputs would be more applicable and useful to the broader community.”
The initiative takes what Dr. Mikaitis described as a twofold approach. One section is geared toward Medicaid enrollees and includes FAQs, eligibility information and links to Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services resources where residents can update their information and learn more about redetermination requirements.
Another section includes a downloadable communications toolkit for community organizations and healthcare providers designed to help amplify consistent messaging around the changes.
“It’s free to download, and we intentionally did not brand it to our organization or any other organization,” Dr. Mikaitis said. “We encourage outside organizations to add their own branding and share the resources as their own.”
Dr. Mikaitis said the initiative was designed not only to educate patients, but to create a coordinated communications framework other organizations could adapt before the policy changes take effect.
He said providers in Michigan have already expressed interest in replicating the microsite and potentially bringing the model to the state Medicaid administrative level.
Early confusion around the changes was one of the biggest issues the workgroup identified, according to Dr. Mikaitis.
“We know what’s going to change, but we don’t yet have all the implementation details from the federal government,” he said. “Our hope is that if we start sharing information now and people coalesce behind the same calls to action, we can make a big difference when it’s time to tell people what they need to do to maintain eligibility later this year.”
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