Lawmakers set to return to Springfield next week

A renewal of the state’s hospital assessment program and, potentially, a Medicaid omnibus bill, are among the items lawmakers could tackle as they return to Springfield next week for a limited agenda that will primarily focus on passing a state spending plan and responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Lawmakers are set to convene from Wednesday, May 20 through Friday, May 22. The House of Representatives will meet at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield. The Senate will meet in the Capitol.

Per guidance issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health, lawmakers will be required to wear face coverings and undergo temperature checks on session days. Members and their staff are being asked to travel alone and stay in separate hotel rooms, social distance and undergo a COVID-19 test before they arrive in Springfield, regardless if they have symptoms or were previously infected.

“Senators have been working together while apart to figure out what we can and need to do now,” Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said he was pleased lawmakers would be involved in the decisions being made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is vital the Legislature be a part of the decision-making process when it comes to maintaining the public’s health, reopening our state, moving our economy forward and overcoming a graduated income tax that would negatively impact Illinois families,” he said.

Lawmakers have not met since March 5.

In a joint proclamation, Harmon and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said that next week’s agenda will be limited and primarily focused on a new budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Revenue estimates for the coming year are expected to be $4.6 billion lower than previously estimated due to the pandemic.

Lawmakers will also consider new relief packages for residents and small businesses, something Gov. JB Pritzker reiterated Wednesday was one of his top agenda items for next week.

“The General Assembly needs to pass a comprehensive plan to support families, small businesses and small towns,” Pritzker said earlier in the week.

The hospital assessment program is also on the agenda. The $3.8 billion plan, which would run from July 1 through the end of 2022, would increase funding for hospitals by nearly $250 million a year.

Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, a member of the Medicaid working group that hashed out the details of the renewal, said the new plan increases the assessment on the state’s hospitals, which would lead to additional federal funding and higher rates for physicians, hospitals and other providers.

She said the new program would also include “directed pools” for different classes of hospitals like critical access hospitals, safety-net hospitals and academic medical centers.

“So that we can within those pools provide stability for those classes of hospitals that they are now going to have access to a certain amount of dollars,” Steans told Health News Illinois.

Additionally, the program sets aside $150 million for what the Department of Healthcare and Family Services is calling “innovative future healthcare projects.”

Steans said that funding will help hospitals transform their care delivery models, which could include partnerships with federally qualified health centers, behavioral health providers and other groups.

She said the more than $260 million that officials had previously agreed to set aside for hospital transformation will be used to fund overall rates and operating expenses of hospitals.

“That didn’t go away, it is just no longer being used for straight out transformation,” Steans said.

She said the Medicaid working group is also debating several proposals that may make its way into an omnibus bill unveiled next week, but she said it’s too early to tell if legislation will be needed. She said that Pritzker may have the authority to move forward with many of the measures they are discussing. She declined to provide specifics.

“We are having lots of meetings today, tomorrow and over the weekend,” Steans said.

Health News Illinois is removing the password on all stories related to the coronavirus. For the latest developments follow us on Twitter at @healthnewsil or check out our website. For complete healthcare coverage, sign up for a free trial to our daily email newsletter.