IHA Daily Briefing: April 13

Medicaid Community Health Worker Service Coverage
The Illinois Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) issues a public notice proposing Medicaid reimbursement of services provided by certified community health workers, pursuant to P.A. 102-0004. This coverage would include health promotion and education, health system navigation and resource coordination, and nonclinical screening and assessment to identify health-related social needs and barriers to care for individuals with chronic health conditions, risk factors, and other health needs, effective July 1, 2026. Providers interested in submitting questions or comments may follow the instructions listed in the public notice. IHA will continue to update membership on this coverage closer to implementation.

CMS Releases FY2027 Medicare Payment Proposed Rules
Over the last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2027 Medicare payment proposed rules. These include proposed rules for the FY 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) PPS, Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) PPS, Inpatient Psychiatric Facility (IPF) PPS, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) PPS, and Hospice.

The proposed increase in IPPS and LTCH PPS payment rates is 2.4%, or $1.4 billion. CMS proposed increasing SNF PPS, IRF PPS, and Hospice rates by 2.4% as well. The IPF PPS rate update is proposed at 2.3%.

IHA is reviewing the proposed rules and will post hospital-specific estimated financial impact reports in the IHA C-Suite in the coming weeks. CMS fact sheets on each of these proposed rules are available here. Comments are due through the Federal Register website in June.

Staff contact: Cassie Yarbrough

Illinois Senate Update: Subcommittee on AI, Social Media
While the Illinois Senate did not convene in Springfield for session last week, several Senate committees and subcommittees held hearings. Notably, the Senate Executive Committee AI and Social Media Subcommittee convened two days of hearings on artificial intelligence (AI) and social media legislation introduced in the Senate. IHA provided written testimony providing input, urging lawmakers to prioritize balanced rules governing AI that protect patients while enabling clinically beneficial uses of AI.

IHA emphasized the importance that legislation addressing AI be drafted with an eye to the future, saying, "any AI policy should be treated as living policy and approached with a willingness to reconsider and revise legislation based on how AI technology develops, is deployed/used and how it performs. This includes mechanisms for periodic review, clear criteria for revisions, and processes to update definitions and scope as technology and clinical practice evolve."

IHA noted that AI statutes should employ common definitions across topics, industry, and laws to reduce confusion and support compliance, and strike a balance between safeguards and innovation. The testimony underscored that AI regulation in clinical settings must be tailored to healthcare, as patient care and health data are already governed by robust federal and state frameworks. Click here to view IHA's written testimony.

The House and Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, April 14 through Friday, April 17, which is the scheduled 3rd reading deadline in both chambers.

UPDATE: New CMS Registration Information for Data Reporting Webinar
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an updated registration link for its webinar April 16 at 2 p.m. CT on Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule data collection. CMS will provide an overview on data collection as new Protecting Access to Medicare Act private payer data reporting requirements for hospital outreach laboratories, independent laboratories and physician office laboratories will begin May 1.

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

AVID Medical has issued an Urgent Medical Device Recall Notification to affected customers recommending certain angiographic syringes included in convenience kits be removed from where they are used or sold due to the potential for a loose connection or disconnection that can cause serious injury or death. The list of affected devices can be found in the Food and Drug Administration's April 10 Early Alert. There have been four serious injuries and no deaths associated with this issue.

Leading the News

Pritzker says DHS threat to deny customs-processing resources in sanctuary cities would hurt Chicago economy

Chicago Sun-Times

Gov. JB Pritzker strongly pushed back against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's suggestion this week that his department might not provide customs-processing resources to sanctuary cities like Chicago. Appearing Monday on Fox News, Mullin questioned whether cities with sanctuary rules - which prohibit city workers from cooperating with federal immigration agencies - should be "processing customs into their city." Federal agencies under DHS handle customs processing for travelers.

Black doulas work to bridge health disparities for Black mothers

Chicago Sun-Times

Saturday marked Global Black Doula Day and the start of Black Maternal Health Week, a campaign launched by Black Mamas Matter Alliance to raise awareness, drive activism and build community around the experiences of Black mothers, according to Ayesha Jaco, executive director of the nonprofit West Side United.

Older, sicker Americans waiting longer to get into crowded hospitals

Chicago Sun-Times

This week, The Economist published a story with the musical title, "Hospitals are stuck in a deadly doom loop." Turns out the 2020 COVID crisis not only killed millions worldwide and shut down society, but it also "did lasting damage to health-care systems." Where? Everywhere, all over the world. What's been damaged? In a nutshell, everything.