Illinois e-News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OCT. 7, 2022

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has chosen six healthcare collaboratives for the State Fiscal Year 2023 cycle of the Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program, which aims to close gaps in healthcare services and eliminate the barriers to access and inequities that persist in Illinois’ healthcare system.

The awardees chosen to be part of this round of funding submitted plans to HFS with missions that focus on improving maternal and child health on the south side of Chicago, and in western Cook County and east-central Illinois, reducing health disparities among older adults on the south side of Chicago and expanding behavioral health offerings for youth on the south and west sides of Chicago.

The program encourages healthcare providers to partner together to further these goals in their communities, creating collaboratives that are able to leverage their shared resources to create stronger and more innovative strategies for improving access, quality and equity in the healthcare landscape than they could individually.

HFS received 40 applications from proposed collaboratives during this round, and has chosen the following entities to advance to the next phase, which will determine specific funding allocations for each project:

The specific funding levels for each collaborative will be decided by HFS. The Department may be unable to fund all of the collaboratives at the total level of their request. In addition to these entities, HFS is still considering additional proposals in the Northern, Central and Southern Illinois regions for this Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives funding cycle. The Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program invests a total of up to $150 million annually to the collaboratives HFS has chosen, which includes support from federal matching funds.

“Since I signed the Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives legislation last year, healthcare collaboratives throughout the state have been hard at work providing quality and holistic healthcare to our underserved communities,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Today, I couldn’t be happier to announce our next round of grantees with over $70 million in funding to close the healthcare gap. Healthcare is a human right and every Illinoisan — regardless of their race, age, location, gender, ability, or socioeconomic status — deserves access to quality healthcare. I am proud that this investment does exactly that. Here’s to a healthier and more equitable Illinois.”

“We are very excited to be launching this next cycle of the Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program, with a group of collaboratives that were chosen from a very strong pool of applicants,” HFS Director Theresa Eagleson said. “This program seeks to make significant, positive changes to the healthcare system in Illinois and specifically for Medicaid customers. We are thrilled to see creativity and innovation in the proposals to re-center healthcare around customers to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequities and address the social determinants of health in their communities, which span the state.”

Since Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives legislation into law last year, HFS has chosen partnering organizations that came together and put forth creative plans to solve complex healthcare challenges in holistic ways in communities where there is great need.

The missions of the collaboratives that were funded during the first round of awards in 2021 include improving healthcare access and outcomes on Chicago's South Side, realigning healthcare delivery and improving quality of life across Metro East, expanding culturally responsive healthcare on Chicago's West Side, and improving mental and physical healthcare and substance use disorder treatment across Southern Illinois.

“Illinois communities need innovative solutions that cater to the unique and complex healthcare challenges so that people have access to the services they need, when they need them most,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside). “The plan these collaboratives have laid out prioritize creating a healthcare system that’s committed to equity and reducing disparities that persist in the healthcare landscape within their communities. I’m thankful for the work Illinois is continuing to put in to ensure we are breaking down barriers that disenfranchised communities have struggled with for far too long.”

“For far too long in far too many communities, the lack of access to quality healthcare meant preventable problems and illnesses went unaddressed,” said Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). “These collaboratives are creating tailored plans for communities to eliminate barriers to quality care and move us toward a healthcare system that truly reaches all Illinoisans.”

“I’m thrilled to see the collectives that will receive funding in this second round of awards, building on the statewide impact that the first-round collaboratives have made to date in broadening access to quality healthcare services,” said Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago). “I am hopeful that the work of this initiative will lead to lasting change and a more equitable healthcare system across Chicago and Illinois.”

“The Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program recognizes the importance of holistic, whole-person health and that every individual and community has unique needs and health challenges,” said Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago). “This effort continues Illinois’ work to address the social and structural determinants of health and reduce inequities in health outcomes that are unfortunately still far too common.”

"This is exactly the kind of creative, community-driven solution to complicated healthcare problems we need in Central Illinois, and across the state," said Sen. Scott Bennett (D-Champaign). "Broadening access to preventative care, behavioral healthcare, and maternal and child health are vital to creating healthier communities."

These funds are being spent in underserved communities to fill gaps that exist in the healthcare system, with a focus on underlying conditions in areas of the state that are high on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index scale, and communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While award numbers are still being finalized with individual collaboratives, the Department expects to award over $70 million this fiscal year to the second-round awardees. Most projects have a lifespan of three to five years with varying funding needs beyond the initial year.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services launched Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives in 2021. The program aims to close gaps in healthcare services and eliminate barriers to access and inequities that persist in Illinois’ healthcare system. Illinois healthcare providers that are interested in being a part of Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives are asked to partner together to further these goals in their communities, creating collaboratives that are able to leverage their shared resources to create stronger and more innovative strategies for improving access, quality and equity in the healthcare landscape than they could individually. HFS is in the final stages of selecting the next round of collaboratives, which will receive funding to carry out their proposals as part of the state Fiscal Year 2023 cycle. The Department is authorized to spend up to $150 million annually on Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives, with support from federal matching funds.

About the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is responsible for providing healthcare coverage for adults and children who qualify for Medicaid, and for providing Child Support Services to help ensure that Illinois children receive financial support from both parents. The department is organized into two major divisions, Medical Programs and Child Support Services. In addition, the Office of Inspector General is maintained within the agency, but functions as a separate, independent entity reporting directly to the governor's office.