Protect Our Care – Illinois is a statewide coalition of health care advocates, providers, and consumers joining together to protect and defend Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Protect Our Care – Illinois invites you to join Illinoisans across the state to defend access to quality affordable health care for all.

In February, Governor Pritzker presented his budget proposal to the General Assembly; in response, we urged the General Assembly to take action. As the regular legislative session concludes, we are tasked with looking back at our call to action, reviewing our ask alongside the steps taken by the General Assembly:

1. Protect Medicaid eligibility and access to care by minimizing the harm of new barriers such as work requirements, coverage restrictions, and administrative burdens that would push people off coverage.
   1. We are disappointed that the General Assembly did not include funding to legally present immigrants who will lose Medicaid coverage on October 1st as a result of HR 1 cuts. We are thankful that some existing immigrant health programs, Asylum Applicants and Torture Victims (AATV) and Health Benefits for Individual Seniors (HBIS), received level funding, and we hope that this funding will help some of the individuals losing Medicaid.
2. Fill federal funding gaps with sustainable state revenue, ensuring Illinois does not pass federal cuts on to families, providers, and communities.
   1. We commend the General Assembly for including a revenue package that provides additional revenue, including a digital ad tax, decoupling from HR 1 tax cuts, and predictive market taxation. 
   2. We are disappointed that, though the General Assembly took steps to secure new revenue, the state continues to fall short and must find the tenacity to be bold and find a path to generate significant revenue. Fighting the federal government’s attacks includes ensuring that every Illinoisan has access to healthcare. Without additional revenue, the state cannot ensure every Illinoisan has safe, affordable healthcare. 
3. Stabilize hospitals, community health centers, long-term care providers, and the health care workforce, particularly in rural areas and underserved communities that are already under strain.
   1. We appreciate the Illinois General Assembly’s restoring the $9 million appropriation for free and charitable clinics in the FY27 State Budget zeroed out in the Governor’s budget proposal. We know that with federal changes to Medicaid, we will see additional individuals and families visiting our free and charitable clinics; they are trusted pillars of their communities, delivering care with dignity to the people who need it most.
4. Protect coverage for immigrants and mixed-status families, ensuring that all Illinois residents can access affordable, preventive, and lifesaving care.
   1. We commend the General Assembly for their:
      1. Reversal of the Governor’s Proposed Cuts to Victims of Torture, Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes (VTTC) program, ensuring people who are ineligible for federal programs have access to food and cash assistance. 
      2. Including $143 million for Health Benefits for Individual Seniors, a healthcare program for undocumented seniors. 
5. Preserve and strengthen safety-net programs, including behavioral health, maternal and child health, HIV treatment and prevention, and long-term care services, that are essential to public health and economic stability.
   1. We commend the General Assembly:
      1. For the passage of the 340B Drug Discount Program, a needed lifeline for consumers, hospitals, and health care centers. Providing people with access to affordable prescription drugs. 
      2. Including language in the Medicaid Omnibus bill that allows IDHS to establish pilot programs through which financial support can be provided to Illinois residents by local governments, nonprofits, or privately funded programs, such as direct cash transfers to pregnant people and new parents
   2. We are disappointed that: 
      1. While the final state budget includes a slight increase to the HIV Lump Sum, it doesn’t fully reflect the additional investments necessary to address the urgent need for sustained HIV prevention, treatment, and supportive services.
      2. Despite deep racial disparities in infant mortality and maternal mortality and morbidity, the General Assembly cut funding for programs that would address root causes of inequality, prevent future deaths, and support mothers and babies. 

Protect Our Care-Illinois members will continue to advocate at the state and federal levels to ensure every Illinoisan has access to affordable, quality healthcare. We ask that our elected officials join us in this advocacy.