SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS (March 24, 2020) — Our nation’s ongoing public health crisis is creating dire consequences for Illinois’ community-health centers, from a lack of patients. Illinois’ congressional delegation is stepping up to call for an answer now. The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) represents 51 community-health centers with 390 locations around the state serving 1.4 million patients (or one of every nine Illinois residents). IPHCA is calling for immediate action in Washington and Springfield to prevent layoffs, supply shortages and patient access limitations as we all take extraordinary steps to limit the spread of coronavirus. In a new letter signed by all 18 members of Illinois’ US House delegation to Governor JB Pritzker, the conundrum facing health centers is obvious. While temporarily ending preventative and routine medical visits to comply with federal and state orders are necessary steps to slow the virus, the centers now face financial hardship. With far fewer patients to treat, the centers are not receiving the reimbursement revenue needed to pay for staff, supplies, and other operating expenses. The temporary pain from coronavirus could create long-lasting, devastating damage for the entire health-care delivery system, hitting hardest the state’s most vulnerable communities. A new report from Capital Link, a partner of IPHCA, finds Illinois community-health centers will lose as much as 70 percent of their revenue over the next three months — or nearly $140 million in revenue:
- Nearly 30 percent will exhaust all of their operating reserves and be forced to close sites and reduce services
- 37 percent are already on the brink of closure, with less than 30 days of cash on hand
- More than 70 percent will have substantial operating deficits, making it more difficult to provide the critical care needed during this challenging time
“During this national emergency, we cannot afford for our healthcare facilities to lack the resources they need. It would be unthinkable for a Community Health Center to be forced to close due to a lack of adequate revenue,” the congressional delegation wrote in its letter. The delegation urged Pritzker to work quickly with state lawmakers to provide state funds for centers to allow them to provide core health services during the coronavirus pandemic response and to meet other, varying needs health centers have to serve communities around the state. They will do their part to work in Washington to prioritize federal funding for health centers. “While we understand that Illinois will have to make tough choices in the days, weeks, and months ahead, adequate funding provided directly to our community-health centers now will ensure we are ready to overcome these challenges,” they wrote. Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have done their part by joining 165 members of Congress in a separate letter calling for billions of dollars of long-term funding for community health centers in an upcoming coronavirus response legislative package. Their letter can be found here. Jordan Powell, President and CEO of the IPHCA, applauded the bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers for uniting to call attention to the very real and imminent threats facing community health centers. He noted centers – which provide care to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay or if they have insurance coverage – already are underfunded by $150 million a year, and the coronavirus response has turned a difficult funding challenge into an impossible one. “We are working around the clock every day to fight the spread of coronavirus during this time of crisis, and our centers have stepped up admirably,” Powell said. “We cannot operate for free. By doing the right thing to fight coronavirus, our community-health centers are quickly starving for the funds they need to keep operating at full strength — an unthinkable outcome, especially during this public health crisis. We need help now. Thank you to our congressional delegation for recognizing the urgency, and thank you to Gov Pritzker and his team for their tremendous leadership during this crisis and hearing our concerns in ongoing conversations. We will work with the Pritzker administration and the Legislature to provide the funding needed to keep our centers running as quickly as possible.”
