ILLINOIS' 340B HOSPITALS AND CLINIC SYSTEMS ARE FAILING PATIENTS
Illinois' 340B hospitals and clinics are supposed to help people. Instead, they're raising costs for families and enriching executives while hardworking Illinoisans are left in the dark.
Billions of Dollars. Zero Accountability.
In fact, operating expenses at one major Illinois health system totals $2.6 billion. But their charity care rate is .69%, less than half the national average.
Only 37% of Illinois hospitals are compliant with a federal law requiring price transparency on healthcare services provided.
One major Illinois hospital’s own billing policies authorize sending debt collectors after patients with unpaid medical bills.
Big Hospitals & Clinics Put Profits First.
One major Illinois hospital exec received a $10.5 million "golden parachute" after leaving the job.
Moody’s praised one Illinois system for its “significant operating income benefits” from 340B – and projected even more profit as it expands its oncology business.
Massive Markups and Aggressive Debt Collection.
A Chicago patient went in for a routine colonoscopy – but was slapped with a $19,000 surprise bill after the hospital reclassified it as a surgery.
While a top Chicago hospital raked in profits, nurses walked off the job – saying they were overworked and underpaid.
At another Illinois hospital, hundreds of workers went on strike and demanded fair wages and safe staffing – even as the hospital continued to profit off taxpayer-funded programs like 340B.
In 2023 alone, 340B cost Illinois employers an estimated $223.7 million and taxpayers an estimated $31 million.
Illinois' 340B program was meant to serve patients, not pad hospital and clinic profits. Instead, charity care lags, CEO pay soars, and transparency is ignored.
THIS IS A TIME TO HOLD BIG HOSPITALS ACCOUNTABLE, NOT REWARD THEM.