Nearly 1,000 Patients, Providers and Community Leaders Rally at 340B ACTION Day
Nearly 1,000 patients, healthcare providers, community leaders and lawmakers from across Illinois gathered yesterday for a powerful 340B ACTION Day in North Lawndale. They came together to celebrate the lifesaving impact of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program and to urge lawmakers to protect and strengthen this vital patient lifeline by passing 340B protection legislation (HB 2371) currently pending in the Illinois House.

Hosted by healthcare and community leaders from across the state, the event celebrated how 340B helps community health centers and hospitals provide affordable medications and essential services to patients within their communities. From cancer treatment and chronic disease management to behavioral health, maternal care and “meds-to-beds” programs that ensure patients leave the hospital with prescriptions in hand, speakers underscored the importance of 340B as a cornerstone of Illinois’ healthcare safety net. 

During the event, hospital leaders, including Dr. Ngozi Ezike, CEO, Sinai Chicago, who spoke at the event, detailed how 340B sustains trauma care, oncology services and rural access. State Rep. Anna Moeller, lead House sponsor of HB 2371, walked through the bill’s provisions, while other House lawmakers joined to encourage support and passage of the bill this spring. Patients shared how access to discounted medications made the difference between stability and crisis, while community health center leaders described how 340B funds mobile clinics, transportation, and preventive care, and detailed the program’s role in addressing health disparities.  

The rally concluded with a unified call for action to advance HB 2371 in the Illinois House during the legislative session in order to protect patient access to affordable medications and strengthen the healthcare safety net in every region of Illinois. Click here to learn more about how Illinois hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers are caring for patients in underserved communities that benefit from the 340B program.

Report Highlights Disproportionate Health Risks Faced by Homeless Population
The latest homeless morbidity and mortality report from the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) shows that persons experiencing homelessness (PEH) face significant health challenges and are much more likely to face emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and premature death than the public at large. The full report can be found here, and the executive summary can be found here.

The study finds that approximately 10,000 people in Illinois between 2017-2030 experienced “literal homelessness,” where they had no sufficient shelter at all, while potentially more than 200,000 people were in unstable housing situations, living temporarily with family and friends. IDPH underscored the numbers are likely undercounted, because of limitations in the data systems that can identify and count unhoused individuals. 

Key findings include:

• More than 75,000 PEH accounted for more than 1.8 million hospital visits in Illinois during the time frame of the report, with a median of around 14 hospital visits per person over that seven-year span.

• The overwhelming majority of deaths and hospital visits for PEH occurred in urban counties, although deaths and hospital visits for PEH were recorded in every region of the state.

• PEH were far more likely than the housed population to die from drug overdoses (39.3% versus 4.9%), traumatic injuries (11.3% versus 5.6%) or excessive cold (3.7% versus 0.1%). Homicide fatalities among PEH were nearly three times higher than the rate for the housed population (3.1% versus 1.1%).

• PEH seeking hospital-based medical care and those who died were predominantly middle-aged (mean age 45 years during hospital visits and 56 at time of death), male, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black.

Click here to view IDPH’s public announcement, which includes additional information about the report, including additional findings and related recommendations to reduce morbidity and mortality for persons experiencing homelessness. For more information on Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago hospital resources for patients experiencing homelessness, see the Nov. 2025 IHA memo.

Spring Legislative Update; IHA’s Legislative Reception Deadline Approaching
Neither chamber of the Illinois General Assembly was in session last week; however, the Senate returns to session this Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 3-5. This Friday, Feb. 6, is the bill-filing deadline in the House and Senate. The House and Senate will be off next week before returning to Springfield Feb. 17-19. Notably, Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver his combined State of the State and Budget Address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 18. 

If you have not yet registered to attend IHA’s State Legislative Reception in Springfield on Tuesday, Feb. 17, we encourage you to do so soon—there is still time to join. IHA’s Legislative Reception will be held at Maldaner’s at 222 S. 6th Street in Springfield on Tuesday, Feb. 17, from 5-8 p.m. CT. To RSVP, please click here.

To support participation, IHA has extended our room block at the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield DoubleTree through tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 3. Members can reserve a room under the block by clicking here. You can also call for reservations at 217-544-8800 x1 and ask for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association block. 

Free PracticeWise Resources to Improve Clinical Outcomes for Children, Families 
The Illinois Dept. of Human Services-Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery’s Bureau of Child, Adolescent & Family Services is offering a free resource intended to improve clinical outcomes of children, adolescents, and families. Illinois PracticeWise offers innovative tools and services to help clinicians and organizations improve the quality of healthcare for children, and adolescents, and support individuals working with children, adolescents, and families through established knowledge management strategies and resources. Resources include:

• Practitioner Guides for Before, During and After Treatment: Summarizes the most common elements of evidence-based treatments for youth in a convenient handout format to guide therapists in performing the main steps.

• Modular Approach for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma or Conduct: Comprehensive, well-organized resources that may be adapted for a diverse array of children and problems.

• PracticeWise Evidence-Based Services Database: Online, searchable database that professionals can use to access summaries of the best and most current scientific research, with customizable results to match an individual child’s characteristics. 

Federal Executive Order Targets Substance Use and Addiction
The White House issued an executive order last week to address substance use and addiction. The order establishes the White House Great American Recovery Initiative, to be led by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services in conjunction with other federal agencies and officials. The initiative is intended to coordinate the federal government’s response to substance use and addiction by realigning relevant Federal programs. Also, the initiative seeks to advise federal agencies on how to implement programs regarding substance use prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and re-entry into all relevant public health, healthcare, criminal justice, workforce, education, housing and social services systems. Additionally, the program would advise federal agency leaders on how to direct grants supporting addiction recovery with a focus on prevention, treatment, and long-term resilience, among other efforts.