Billions of new healthcare funding will be included in the roughly $50.4 billion spending plan signed into law Wednesday by Gov. JB Pritzker. [Health News Illinois]

That includes a $240 million increase to implement a $2.50 an hour wage increase for workers who serve Illinoisans with developmental disabilities.

Other provisions in the plan include $550 million to fund a program that provides Medicaid-like coverage to certain undocumented individuals. The proposal does not expand eligibility for the program, a step advocates had sought this spring.

The Medicaid omnibus approved by lawmakers last month gives the Department of Healthcare and Family Services emergency rulemaking to implement provisions intended to reign in the costs of the program, which is estimated to hit $1.1 billion in the coming year.

The budget also allocates:

·    $42.5 million for grants to counties and cities for their costs associated with asylum seekers.

·    $53.5 million to overhaul the Department of Public Health’s disease monitoring systems in preparation for future public health emergencies.

·    $38 million for 23 safety-net hospitals that serve low-income communities.

·    $25 million of continued funding for a program that trains new nurses, medical assistants, medical laboratory technicians, emergency medical technicians and other high-demand positions.

·    $24 million for a rate increase for home workers who assist the elderly, increased outreach to the elderly, and an increase for Adult Day Services.

·    $22.8 million to begin implementing the state’s Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative.

·    $18 million to establish a reproductive health navigation hotline, training and consultation programs.

·    $10 million to begin preparation for a state-based health insurance marketplace.

·    $3 million for IDPH to implement healthcare workforce repayment and scholarship programs.

Other provisions include creating a council to advise HFS on how to support veteran suicide prevention and giving the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention the ability to award violence prevention organizations grants for services related to behavioral health, including clinical interventions, crisis interventions and group counseling supports.

“With this budget, we're building a stronger economy and putting our state back on sound fiscal footing, while also making smart investments in priorities like education, healthcare and local communities,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association thanked lawmakers for approving the final package, saying with the “critical financial contribution, Illinois hospitals can remain strong, viable and committed to providing safe, quality healthcare for all.”

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