According to the report, about half of the $1.5 billion — $735 million — would be Medicaid cuts to hospitals.
The Illinois Hospital Association projects 12,591 jobs will be lost and the state will lose $1.75 billion in economic activity if the cuts take place, the report reads.
Illinois Hospital Association spokesman Danny Chun told the Chicago Tribune hospitals that serve a great number of Medicaid patients would be impacted the most. For instance, Chicago-based Norwegian American Hospital would see “a devastating impact,” and that impact would make its way to the Humboldt Park neighborhood, where a majority of hospital employees reside, Norwegian American Hospital CEO Jose Sanchez said in the report.
“Not only do we provide healthcare, but we provide economic stability in this community,” Mr. Sanchez told the Chicago Tribune. “Any reduction of services in the workforce increases the level of poverty in a community like this.”
Additionally, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association is concerned that the proposed Medicaid cuts could result in lower “dispensing fees” that pharmacists get for filling prescriptions on brand-name drugs, according to the report.
In the meantime, Mr. Chun told the Chicago Tribune that the Illinois Hospital Association would like to see alternatives and is “ready and willing to have some thoughtful conversations with the governor and his administration.”
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