Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Illinois alerts more than 700,000 people they will or could lose public health insurance

wbez.org · 3dShare

The Pritzker administration is alerting more than 700,000 people across Illinois that they will lose, or at risk of losing, their public health insurance due to unprecedented changes from the federal government. Officials estimate about half of these enrollees live in Cook County. The state has mailed letters to people who have Medicaid public health insurance, a state-federal program for those who are low-income or have disabilities. About 3 million people have Medicaid coverage in Illinois, around 1 in 4 people. “It could be a huge step backwards,” said Kathy Chan, director of policy at Cook County Health in Chicago, one of the largest public health systems in the U.S. “We and many other partners … are working towards a goal of trying to mitigate the harm as much as we can, and try to preserve coverage for as many people who are still eligible as possible.” The significant changes are coming due to H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill , that President Trump signed into law las

First report: Illinois alerts more than 700,000 people they will or could lose public health insurance — suntimes.com, 3d