Pritzker, IDPH director announce new funds for reproductive health services

Gov. JB Pritzker and newly-minted Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra have detailed new funding sources for reproductive health services as demand grows in the post-Roe v. Wade world.

During a conference held at the Chicago Family Health Center, Pritzker, who describes abortion as health care, announced increased reimbursement rates for abortion services along with IDPH sending $2 million to the Title X family funding program.

"In Illinois, we trust women to make their own decisions about their bodies," the Democratic governor said on Thursday, adding that service providers had been working overtime since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

"As long as I am governor of Illinois, we will continue to protect and support reproductive health providers and safeguard reproductive freedoms."

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While fellow Democrats expressed gratitude to the Pritzker administration, the same could not be said of Illinois Right to Life ‒ a non-profit, anti-abortion and anti-euthanasia state organization.

Amy Gehrke, IRL executive director, called the investment "absolutely outrageous" in a Friday phone interview with The State Journal-Register.

"Illinois's abortion laws are completely out-of-sync with mainstream opinion on the issue," she said. "Clearly, if you read in between the lines with what he's doing, he is increasing funding for out-of-state women to come to Illinois for abortions."

Starting Sept. 1, Medicaid reimbursement rates for abortion services will increase by 20% – a cost of $3 million per year according to the governor's office. This will grant the centers serving the 3.4 million Illinoisans on Medicaid greater ability to cover expenses, Pritzker said, while also doing away with "bureaucratic billing practices" that forced providers to receive a Medicare denial before requesting payment.

The Medicaid reimbursement went into law nearly five years ago when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 40, which permitted low-income women to be covered by Medicaid when using reproductive health services. Illinois is one of 16 states that permits the use of Medicaid in abortion services coverage.

IDPH will also invest $2 million in the federal Title X program, which the state rejoined in May following three years in protest of a policy from the Trump administration. That policy, since overturned, prevented program fund recipients from referring or counseling patients regarding abortion.

According to the governor's office, the state General Revenue Fund filled in for the lack of funds coming to the program during that year.

This funding comes on top of the $11.2 million already coming down the pipe, where $5.4 million in federal funds and $5.8 million in state funds were announced during that May press conference. Serving 98 family planning clinics throughout the state, Pritzker listed services such as pregnancy testing, STD tests and cancer screenings as those covered by Title X.

Introduced for the first time as IDPH director, Springfield's own Vohra said the Title X investment will be crucial in helping those living under the federal poverty line. A total of 80% of those served through program live under the federal poverty line, he said.

More:Pritzker names SIU Medicine physician to top spot at Illinois Department of Public Health

"These are people who deserve the same access to family planning care as anyone else and who are often the most in-need of health care services," said Vohra, who serves as chair of the SIU School of Medicine Department of Population Science and Policy.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois governor boosts Medicaid reimbursements for abortion services