Small clinics and hospitals are drowning in denied and delayed claims from Illinois Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). To cope, some providers have stopped accepting Medicaid altogether. Meanwhile, MCOs are seeing increasing profits, but aren’t meeting patient care metrics.
Health Care
Posted inInvestigating Responses
Cook County Tried to Rid People of Medical Debt, but, for Many, Help Comes Too Late
Since 2022, Cook County has spent more than $4 million to forgive nearly $500 million worth of medical debt for some 278,000 residents, becoming a pioneer among local governments and garnering waves of positive publicity for their efforts.
But an analysis of Cook County’s debt relief accounts show that many people like Ciaccio saddled with debt should have qualified for free care, a sign that local hospitals are failing to screen for some of the region’s poorest patients even as some use aggressive tactics to collect debt.
