IHA Daily Briefing: October 12

Federal Injunction Bars Enforcement of Illinois Aid In Dying Law Against Religiously Affiliated Healthcare Providers, Institutions

A federal judge has temporarily barred Illinois from enforcing parts of its assisted-suicide law against specified religious healthcare institutions and practitioners, according to the Thomas More Society, which filed the lawsuit.

The new temporary restraining order replaces an Aug. 21 order that covered only the original plaintiffs and now covers members of several religious healthcare associations, including the Illinois Catholic Health Association, members of the Catholic Medical Association, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, National Association of Catholic Nurses and the Catholic Psychotherapy Association, as well as other named parties.

The lawsuit challenges Illinois' new Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (P.A. 104-0441), or the "medical aid in dying law," which went into effect for the majority of (but not all) healthcare institutions and practitioners on Sept. 12. Although the Act does allow providers to opt-out of providing such care, the plaintiffs say the Act's requirements that healthcare professionals, among other things, tell patients about assisted suicide and refer patients to willing providers violates their religious beliefs.

"Three weeks ago, Illinois was poised to force doctors, nurses and Catholic hospitals to choose between their consciences and their licenses," said Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation at the Thomas More Society. "This order lifts that threat for nearly every Catholic health care institution in the state and for the members of the state's largest Catholic and Christian medical associations. We will keep fighting until that protection is permanent."

Click here to view an IHA memo that includes more detail on Illinois' aid in dying law, which was passed during the 2025 fall veto session.Click here to view an IHA Daily Briefing with information on the Aug. 21 temporary restraining order.

CMS Release Report on States RHTP Funding Implementation

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released its first report on how states are implementing funds from the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The RHTP will distribute $50 billion to rural providers from fiscal year (FY) 2026 to FY 2030. The report provides information on the period from Dec. 29, 2025, to July 31, 2026. The report details how much each state has allocated for the first year of the program, which would be spent by September 2027. The report shows that of the more than $193.4 million Illinois received for its period one award, as of July 31 more than $165 million has been invested in projects targeting hospital transformation and technological innovation initiatives; disease prevention; mobile services; and workforce development, training and pipeline programs.

DoA Information on Preparing for Medicare Open Enrollment

Before Medicare's Open Enrollment period begins on Oct. 15, the Illinois Dept. on Aging (DoA) is encouraging beneficiaries to start browsing plans early and to get trusted advice through the state's Senior Health Insurance Program. Medicare's annual open enrollment period extends from Oct. 15-Dec. 7, allowing beneficiaries to join, switch, or drop certain Medicare plans. Current beneficiaries should soon be receiving their plan's Annual Notice of Change, which summarizes the changes in their plan's cost and coverage for the coming year. Click herefor related resources, guidance and contact information.

Cyber Threat: Chinese Cyber Actors Using Hacking Tools to Steal Data

U.S. and international agencies have issued a joint alert warning Chinese government-linked cyber threat actors have been observed using both automated and hands-on hacking tools to steal sensitive data from critical infrastructure organizations, including healthcare, in the U.S. and abroad. The threat actors are enabled by the Integrity Technology Group, a China-based company with links to the Chinese government. The agencies said the threat actors are using automated scanning tools, large-scale botnets and hands-on exploitation techniques to attack Microsoft Exchange servers and virtual private network software. The advisory includes recommended actions to help mitigate risk from potential attacks.

Illinois Respiratory Disease Surveillance Data

The Infectious Respiratory Disease Surveillance Dashboard from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) provides the latest data on hospital visits, seasonal trends, lab test positivity and demographic data. IDPH also tracks COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus information through the Illinois Wastewater Surveillance System dashboard.

Briefly Noted

Philips Ultrasound is recommending updated use instructionsfor all Lumify diagnostic ultrasound systems due to a software issue that may delay diagnosis or treatment. To prevent unintended loss or delays in scanning functionality, only use the Lumify diagnostic ultrasound system in areas with readily accessible Wi-Fi/cellular signals unless a backup ultrasound device is immediately available. As of Sept. 29, 2026, Philips Ultrasound has reported eight serious injuries and four deaths associated with this issue.

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