On Wednesday, July 12, Director of Health Equity Wesley Epplin spoke at the Cook County Preliminary Budget hearing for FY2018 on the need to increase the tax allocation for the Cook County Health & Hospital System (CCHHS) in the County budget. The Health System has faced several years of reductions in the County’s tax allocation, and Epplin urged the Board of Commissioners not to under-fund CCHHS, which provides vital health services to our community.
“The health system cannot absorb a cut in its revenues of nearly $60 million, as this will lead to cuts in both services and staff, depleting the health system such that it cannot fulfill its mission of providing high-quality healthcare to all people who come through its doors,” Epplin said. “A well-funded health system is not an optional item in the budget. Health & Medicine urges you: Do not under-fund the Cook County Health and Hospital System. This is a matter of life and death for the patients the system serves and a vital safety net when people need it.”