Illinois Expands Medicaid Hospital Assessment Program

On May 17, 2022, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation, Illinois House Bill 1950, to extend and expand the state’s Hospital Assessment Program (HAP), a Medicaid provider tax. This program and tax were created in 2020 to provide additional Medicaid funding to safety net hospitals in areas of the state most adversely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. The funding is intended to ensure that hospitals with high Medicaid utilization have a predictable cash flow.

The hospital tax is collected by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) and is augmented by . . .