Bustos issues call to protect Rockford community after Mercyhealth’s decision to stop accepting some Medicaid patients’ insurance while receiving nearly $13 Million in CARES Act funding
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) is calling for future COVID-19 relief funding to be denied to hospitals and health care providers that stop accepting Medicaid insurance during the pandemic.
“It is indefensible that Mercyhealth would put Rockford’s most vulnerable patients, and the community, at risk in the middle of a pandemic all while accepting taxpayer-funded relief intended to help the public at large,” said Congresswoman Bustos. “While there is no doubt that hospitals and health care providers need and deserve our support during this challenging time, taxpayer dollars should be put towards institutions that are helping those in need rather than turning them away. Simply put – hospitals that abandon Medicaid patients during the COVID-19 pandemic should not receive federal relief funds.”
In a letter to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Congresswoman Bustos wrote, “Although hospitals and health care providers deserve appropriate compensation, those who abandon their patients in the middle of a pandemic should not receive federal relief funds.”
The letter tells the story of a mother in Rockford, Illinois who is battling breast cancer and whose son has special and medical needs. The mother wrote to the Congresswoman to explain that she worries about having to find another provider in the midst of a public health pandemic.
“The family now worries about having to find a new pediatrician, numerous pediatric specialists, a new primary care doctor, and a new cancer team in Chicago, which is nearly two hours way. One can only imagine how this family’s concerns are exacerbated by the hundreds of cases of COVID-19 in their local community,” the letter states.
Last month, Rockford area hospital Mercyhealth announced that they will no longer accept certain kinds of Medicaid. The decision will have a profound impact on over 66,000 patients in the Rockford area whose insurance coverage will no longer be accepted, putting the Rockford community at increased risk in the middle of a public health pandemic.
Congresswoman Bustos’ letter comes on the heels of reports that Mercyhealth will receive nearly $13 Million in federal COVID-19 relief funds as a direct result of the CARES Act.
The text of the letter is included below and can be viewed here
***Report Courtesy of the Office of Congresswoman Bustos***
