Health News Illinois reports: Cook County will provide an additional $40 million to help offset a shortfall in its health system’s budget that could have led to service cuts and layoffs, county Board President Toni Preckwinkle said last week.

Preckwinkle’s unveiled $9.7 billion budget proposal will provide a total of $208 million to support Cook County Health, which she said will help preserve access to care for residents.

The funding comes as Cook County Health said it has eliminated $314 million in expenses in recent years through operational improvements, such as reductions in agency staffing and purchased services.

“That work has put us in a stronger position, but the massive scale of the federal funding reductions exceeds what we can do from an efficiency perspective alone,” said Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis. “We are grateful for the additional support from Cook County government, which will be essential to protecting access to critical health programs, and ensuring the health system can continue to fulfill its mission of providing high-quality, accessible care and services to the people who rely on us.”

The health system’s proposed $4.7 billion budget is a $439 million cut from this year.

County leaders said changes coming to the Medicaid program, including work requirements and additional redeterminations, are expected to cause a spike in the amount of charity care offered in the coming year.

Current projections are that the county will spend $485 million on charity care next year, a $100 million increase from the current year.

Those Medicaid changes are projected to leave about 330,000 Illinois residents without Medicaid coverage. Additionally, the expiration of enhanced federal marketplace tax credits resulted in an estimated 92,000 Illinoisans losing their marketplace insurance this year.

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