Illinois hospitals need more state funding

A respiratory therapist works with a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Rush University Medial Center on Jan. 31, 2022. Hospitals need an increase in Medicaid reimbursement to meet higher costs since the pandemic, two leaders write. (Scott Olson/Getty)

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, hospital leaders are encountering financial challenges and workforce pressures that threaten their ability to provide a full array of healthcare services. Hospitals are struggling to absorb labor and supply chain costs, which have increased upwards of 20%.

Those higher costs are now permanently embedded into the cost of providing care. Without additional state support to help offset those new costs, hospital leaders say the consequences will be impactful and affect delivery of care.