IHA Advocacy Day: Hospital Leaders Discuss Key Healthcare Priorities with Legislators
Today, over 150 leaders of hospital and health systems from across the state participated in more than 100 scheduled meetings with Illinois lawmakers in Springfield, as part of IHA’s 2026 Hospital Advocacy Day. The hospital community urged the General Assembly to support healthcare by prioritizing policies to preserve the state’s investment in hospitals, protect the 340B program, mitigate workforce-related staffing and regulatory issues, and secure implementation of the Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) prior authorization reforms passed in 2024.
“The record participation for our advocacy day underscores the urgency of the healthcare challenges facing our communities, including devastating cuts to Medicaid, delays in implementing MCO reforms, and efforts to restrict the 340B program, which provides critical healthcare services for our state’s most underserved residents,” said A.J. Wilhelmi, IHA President and CEO. “The hospital community is grateful for the opportunity to meet with Governor Pritzker, legislative leaders and members of the Illinois General Assembly to stress the need for strong state support as hospitals continue to face financial instability and growing threats to access to care.”
Hospital Advocacy Day is an opportunity for hospital and health system leaders from communities throughout the state to engage directly with legislators and share first-hand the challenges they’re facing and how legislation will impact their organizations, staff, and the patients they serve.
Learn more about “
What’s at Stake,” and how Illinois hospitals are not only delivering lifesaving care but also strengthening our
state’s economy and local communities every day.
Federal Policy Insights at IHA Small & Rural Meeting – Register Today
With federal healthcare policy constantly changing, staying ahead of its impacts is imperative for small and rural hospital and health system leaders. The
2026 IHA Small & Rural Hospitals Annual Meeting will help you get ahead of shifting federal policies with a session led by Susan Doherty of the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Doherty is AHA’s Vice President of Field Engagement and part of the Rural Health and Regional Executive Team. Her session, “Federal Update: What Rural Hospital Leaders Need to Know,” will provide critical insights and resources to empower rural hospital leaders to strengthen healthcare—and your organization.
The session will cover several critical topics, including:
- Price Transparency;
- Prior Authorization API;
- Medicare Advantage prior authorization and administrative burden;
- Rural Health Transformation Program funding through H.R. 1; and
- Navigating H.R. 1 impacts with patients.
IMPACT Enrollment Reminder
The Illinois Dept. of Human Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (IDHS-DBHR) is reminding providers about the importance of maintaining Illinois Medicaid Program Advanced Cloud Technology (IMPACT) enrollments, including updating contact information, certificate, and license end dates, and completing timely revalidations. Maintaining accurate contact information ensures revalidation notices and other important provider communications are not missed.
IDHS-DBHR is also reminding providers to ensure all end dates in IMPACT are accurate. The Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) certificate end date or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) license end date is used to determine the business eligibility date range. The business eligibility date range expires 60 days after the approved end date listed in IMPACT. Providers need to go into each individual enrollment to update the certificate or license end date prior to the business eligibility date range’s expiration to keep the enrollment current. As long as mental health or SUD services are done in the hospital by the hospital, there is no requirement that a hospital have a separate license from IDHS-DBHR. A hospital or health system may have an IDHS-DBHR license for mental health or SUD services done in a separate building.
Rural Residency Planning and Development Program Accepting Applicants
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on May 1 released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for a new round of
Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) grants. In this round, HRSA will award 15 grants of up to $750,000 dispersed over three years. RRPD grants pay for the startup costs associated with opening new rural residency programs or rural track programs where greater than 50% of training takes place in a rural area. Awardees have access to technical assistance and other resources to help with the development of new programs. Eligible specialties include family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, preventive medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, including family medicine with enhanced obstetrical training. Applications are due to HRSA by June 2.
CISA Launches New Initiative to Defend Against Cyberattacks
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has launched a new
“CI Fortify” initiative to help critical infrastructure, including hospitals and health systems, invest in proactive isolation and recovery planning to ensure they can sustain essential operations during a future crisis, such as when an adversary may disrupt communications and manipulate control systems.
CISA said that isolation includes proactively disconnecting from third-party and business networks to prevent operational technology cyber impacts and sustain essential operations in a corrupted communications environment. The goal is to ensure essential service delivery occurs during an emergency rather than completely shutting down. CISA said recovery efforts include documenting systems, backing up critical files, and practicing the replacement of systems or the transition to manual in case isolation fails and components are rendered inoperable. It also includes addressing communications dependencies for recovery, such as licensing servers or business network connections.
