Illinois hospital officials are warning that upcoming changes in federal Medicaid rules could put many of the state’s hospitals at financial risk.
Capitol News Illinois reports the changes affect a little-known Medicaid program known as State Directed Payments. Those payments help keep small rural and nonprofit charity hospitals afloat.
Under the federal budget plan known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Illinois hospitals stand to lose upwards of $4 billion in revenue over the next five years as a result of the change.
The Illinois Health and Hospital Association says the change will fall heaviest on hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid patients.
Those include safety net hospitals, which are mainly located in low-income urban areas, and critical access hospitals that are located in sparsely populated rural areas.
