This April marks the ninth annual Medicaid Awareness Month, which recognizes one of the largest and most important health programs in the United States. This year’s campaign focuses on protecting Medicaid from massive cuts and structural changes proposed under HR-1.
Proposed changes under HR-1 include new work requirements for some recipients that could result in the disenrollment of up to 500,000 Illinoisians, including seniors, children, people with disabilities, and working families. Compounding this, federal funding cuts are expected to put thousands of hospitals, health facilities, and nursing homes across America at risk of closure.
In our service region, health providers are bracing for significant coverage losses. As more community members become uninsured or underinsured, demand at local hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and free and charitable clinics will rise while access to care narrows — negatively impacting community health and further deepening health disparities.
How Our Partners are Responding
Our grantee partners are not waiting. While public benefits programs and eligibility requirements continue to change, several of our partners, including Alivio Medical Center, Erie Neighborhood House, Equal Hope, Esperanza Health Centers, and IMAN, are actively helping community members navigate these changes and apply for coverage. Many have expanded staffing to meet the growing administrative burden these changes place on recipients.
For immigrant communities, the fear of public charge policy changes discourages participation in Medicaid and other public benefits programs. Our partner, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and their community partners launched the Immigrant Health Academy in 2021 to address this directly – equipping grassroots leaders to help people navigate the healthcare system, know their rights, and access the care they deserve, regardless of immigration status. Now in its fifth year, the Academy remains pivotal in ensuring that immigrants can continue to access care, especially as Medicaid is at risk.
Some grantee partners are also joining a broader statewide effort to protect and defend Medicaid. EverThrive IL, ICIRR, and Legal Council for Health Justice are members of Protect Our Care IL, a statewide coalition of health care advocates, providers, and consumers working together to defend access to quality, affordable health care for all—a vital resource in this moment.
The work of our grantee partners reflects the core belief that health is not just about your access to care, but about whether the systems around you support your ability to thrive. This Medicaid Awareness Month, as the program faces significant threats, HCF is proud to stand alongside our partners and communities fighting to protect Medicaid to ensure it remains a source of community health for all.
