IHA Partner Offers Staffing Solution Exclusive to Illinois Hospitals
A new healthcare marketplace gives Illinois hospital and health system leaders access to local clinicians with the ease of booking and managing shifts with one click. The staffing solution—the Illinois Resource Pool, powered by Matchwell—is an exclusive offering from Matchwell, which is part of IHA Strategic Partner Medical Solutions.

By joining the pool, hospitals and health systems can benefit from:

• Lower talent management costs, by paying only for hours worked;
• Simple, seamless integration into Matchwell’s platform;
• Instant access to pre-vetted, Illinois-licensed clinicians; and
• Optional W2 employer of record to de-risk your hires.

The pool also addresses the high costs and challenges associated with traditional staffing agency models. As an agency alternative, Matchwell can save your organization up to 25% compared to traditional staffing agencies. There are no upfront hiring costs.

Medical Solutions—an IHA Strategic Partner since 2018 and leader in total workforce solutions—acquired Matchwell in July 2022. Founded in 2019, Matchwell uses artificial intelligence to efficiently match licensed and certified staff with healthcare organizations across clinical settings, including hospitals and clinics. See a Matchwell blog post to learn more about the new resource pool.

Staff contact: Gary Drain

Illinois Reaffirms Policy to Preserve Access to Life-saving ED Treatment
In response to the Trump administration’s rescission of federal guidance requiring hospitals to provide abortions in life-threatening emergencies, Illinois is reinforcing state protections that guarantee pregnant patients access to the full range of life-saving care—including abortion—in hospital emergency departments (EDs).

Under a 2024 amendment to the Illinois Hospital Emergency Services Act (Public Act 103-0784), Illinois law explicitly requires hospitals to provide medically necessary reproductive care, including pregnancy termination, in emergency situations. Hospitals that fail to comply are subject to penalties. Implementation rules were recently finalized by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration rescinded its 2022 guidance, issued after the Dobbs decision, which had clarified that hospitals were federally obligated under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act to provide all necessary emergency care, including abortions, to protect a pregnant patient’s life. Of note, on June 2, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a new advisory emphasizing that timely access to abortion can be life-saving in cases such as premature rupture of membranes.

Introduction to MOUD for Providers
RUSH University and the Illinois Primary Health Care Association are partnering to offering an upcoming training opportunity for Illinois prescribers interested in learning more about Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD). The program, “Introduction to MOUD for Providers,” is designed for prescribers who are now able to prescribe buprenorphine without an X-waiver. This session will provide important resources to any prescriber interested in or new to providing MOUD treatment.
 
Focus areas of the training include: 

• Understanding opioid use disorder (OUD) as a chronic illness;
• Screening and identifying OUD in patients;
• Integrating OUD treatment in your practice;
• Basics of initiation of buprenorphine; and
• Diversion prevention, harm reduction and stigma. 

Click here to register for the training, which will take place tomorrow, June 6, from noon-2 p.m. CT. Continuing education credit is available. 

See an IHA memo for more information on new Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for the initiation of MOUD in a hospital emergency department (ED) setting, as an add-on payment to standard ED billing.

Staff contact: Lia Daniels

CBO Report: Reconciliation Bill Could Lead to 10.9 Million Uninsured
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report yesterday projecting that the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill—titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)—would result in 10.9 million more people being uninsured by 2034. Of the 10.9 million, 7.8 million would lose coverage due to Medicaid changes, including work requirements and redetermination frequency, while 2.3 million would be uninsured due to changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace eligibility. A follow-up CBO letter offers additional detail on how the changes would drive the projected rise in the uninsured population. The analysis also found that the legislation would reduce gross benchmark premiums for ACA marketplace plans by an average of 12.2%. The bill is currently under Senate consideration.