Illinois Hospital Leaders, IHA Meet with Congressional Officers
Nearly 30 Illinois hospital and health system leaders joined IHA President and CEO A.J. Wilhelmi and IHA staff in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, as well as U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4th District), Mike Quigley (D-5th District), Sean Casten (D-6th District), Jan Schakowsky (D-9th District), Bill Foster (D-11th District), Nikki Budzinski (D-13th District), Mary Miller (R-15th District) and Eric Sorensen (D-17th District).  Discussions centered on urgent concerns regarding proposed federal Medicaid cuts and policy changes that threaten critical hospital funding.

Wilhelmi and hospital leaders underscored the importance of preserving federal support for hospitals—including safeguarding essential Medicaid funding that enables care for underserved communities, protecting the 340B Drug Pricing Program and opposing harmful “site-neutral” payment proposals. These meetings were held in conjunction with the American Hospital Association’s Annual Meeting, amplifying advocacy efforts at a pivotal moment for federal healthcare policymaking.

Congressional members expressed appreciation for the commitment of Illinois hospitals and healthcare workers and were attentive to the potential consequences of funding reductions. IHA will remain actively engaged with Congress—particularly as year-end legislative packages take shape—to ensure hospital voices are represented and essential funding is protected.

In recent months, Wilhelmi and members of IHA’s leadership team have partnered with IHA Board members and hospital leaders to meet with Illinois’ congressional delegation both in Washington and in-district. During the recent federal recess, IHA and hospital leaders met with Reps. Mike Bost (R-12th District), Darin LaHood (R-16th District) and Budzinski to discuss the far-reaching implications of proposed Medicaid changes on hospitals and patients’ access to care across Illinois.

IHA Webinar on Free Naloxone Kits for Hospital Patients May 29
Across the U.S., opioid-involved overdose deaths jumped 64% between 2019 and 2022—from 49,860 to 81,806. Overall drug overdose deaths have since declined, with widespread, data-driven distribution of naloxone cited as one factor in this positive trend.

Illinois hospitals can help reduce opioid overdose deaths by participating in an Illinois Dept. of Human Services' (DHS) program offering free take-home naloxone kits for at-risk patients at discharge. Learn about this program in a complimentary IHA webinar, “Take-Home Naloxone: Creating Access and Saving Lives," on May 29 from 11 a.m.-noon CT.

Expert presenters from DHS, Illinois Dept. of Public Health, Northwest Illinois Perinatal Center and Colorado Naloxone Project will:

• Discuss the scope of Illinois’ overdose epidemic;
• Provide recent updates to streamline the Illinois Drug Overdose Prevention Program (DOPP) reporting portal;
• The benefits of participating in the DOPP; and
• Strategies to successfully implement a take-home naloxone program in hospital emergency departments and inpatient units.

The webinar is designed for hospital and health system staff responsible for implementing a take-home naloxone program in their organization. Continuing medical education credit and nursing contact hours will be available for attending the live program. The webinar recording will be shared with all registrants following the program. Register today.

Email QualityPatientSafety@team-iha.org with questions.

Suspension of Eight Improvement Activities for MIPS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is suspending eight improvement activities for the 2025 performance year in accordance with the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Improvement Activities Suspension Policy finalized in the Calendar Year 2021 Physician Fee Schedule final rule (86 FR 65465). CMS said it intends to propose removing these improvement activities in future rulemaking. The eight suspended MIPS improvement activities include: 

• MIPS eligible clinical leadership in clinical trials or Community-Based Participatory Research (IA_AHE_5);
• Create and implement an anti-racism plan (IA_AHE_8);
• Implement food insecurity and nutrition risk identification and treatment protocols (IA_AHE_9);
• Create and implement a plan to improve care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer patients (IA_AHE_11);
• Practice improvements that engage community resources to address drivers of health (IA_AHE_12);
• Use of toolsets or other resources to close health and healthcare inequities across communities (IA_PM_6);
• COVID-19 clinical data reporting with or without clinical trial (IA_ERP_3); and
• Vaccine achievement for practice staff: COVID-19, influenza, and hepatitis B (IA_PM_26).

CMS said clinicians should select other improvement activities to complete. However, if any of the suspended improvement activities have already been completed or were in the process of being completed, clinicians will still be able to attest to completing them and receive credit. The 2025 Improvement Activities Inventory outlines available improvement activities. Visit the Quality Payment Program website for more information.

CMS said it is in the process of updating all related resources (i.e. guides, factsheets, webpages, etc.), including the Explore Measures and Activities tool, to indicate these improvement activities have been suspended for Performance Year 2025.

Executive Orders Issued on Medicine Production, Biological Research
Yesterday, the Trump Administration issued two executive orders (EO) related to pharmaceutical manufacturing and biological research. The first EO, “Regulatory Relief to Promote Domestic Production of Critical Medicines” directs the Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate regulatory barriers and expedite approvals to boost U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing. The second EO, “Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research” ends federal funding for gain-of-function and other biological research by foreign entities, and requires new safety guidelines and reporting systems. Click here to access a list of previous EOs.