JUF’s Government Affairs Committee hosted a timely discussion Jan. 24 on the impact proposed changes to Medicaid could have on JUF affiliated agencies and the clients and communities they serve. Speakers included Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin and Roberta Rakove, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at Sinai Health System.

Medicaid is a federal and state-funded health insurance program which originally served only low-income children and individuals who were pregnant, disabled, living in a nursing home. In 2010, as part of the Affordable Care Act, this program was expanded to serve all low-income adults ages 18 to 64, with Federal funds providing a 90 percent match. Thirty-two states adopted this provision, including Illinois.

The Cook County Health System and Sinai Health System have a longstanding commitment to serving low income adults without healthcare insurance. Before the expansion, Cook County raised $500 million in tax revenues to fund services to this group. Sinai devoted $50 million, largely from private fundraising, to pay for “charity care.”

The Medicaid expansion significantly reduced that need. Rakove reported that before Medicaid expansion, 15 percent of individuals Sinai treated were uninsured, which left no money for new initiatives. Today, Sinai’s uninsured population has been reduced by half, and the charity care contribution is closer to $20 million. With the extra cash flow, Sinai Health System has been able to serve more people and invest in new initiatives like behavioral health, primary care partnerships, and basic structural improvements.

As debates are underway in Congress about the future of the Affordable Care Act, the status of the Medicaid expansion is unclear. If eliminated, many, including Suffredin, are concerned the outcome would be devastating.

“Roughly a quarter — or 3 million — of Illinois residents are now covered under the Medicaid program. This will drop if the Medicaid provision is eliminated,” Suffredin said. “The costs of serving low-income adults without health insurance will quickly fall back on the county tax-payers and downstate residents.”

The impact would also be felt on the network of Jewish Federation affiliated agencies according to Government Affairs Committee Chair David Golder, who indicated this issue would likely be on the agenda for the upcoming agency advocacy missions to Washington, D.C. and Springfield, Ill.

“With over $208 million in funding coming into our system as a result of Medicaid, it is our responsibility to ensure that the policy priories of the Government Affairs Committee reflects the issues that directly impact the programs and clients we serve,” Golder said.

To learn more on upcoming advocacy trips to Washington, D.C. on March 20-21 and Springfield on May 9-10, please contact Mara Ruff, [email protected] .