Cook County Makes Move in Favor of Taxpayers?

Cook County health panel has the ability to bring full reform the the County's health system.

by Kate Piercy

Last week the Cook County Board gave permanent control of the county’s health system to an independent panel, which has been running the system for the last two years. Now, after the Board’s vote, the panel has the ability to bring full reform to the health system.

According to the Chicago Tribune, this is “great news for taxpayers and all those patients, many of them impoverished, who depend on the health system.” So far, the panel has proven to be “effective and efficient,” and despite union and political pressure, the health panel has “slashed the system’s bloated payroll and started to run the system as a business,” the Tribune reports.

The health panel already revealed plans to shut down “the severely underused inpatient units at Provident and Oak Forest hospitals and consolidate that care at the also underused Stroger Hospital.” The Tribune notes these three hospitals are “staffed for an inpatient load that doesn’t exist” and thinks there are “better ways to provide services for patients, and savings for taxpayers.”

This closing/consolidation idea would save $72 million of Cook County taxpayers’ money:

• Close Oak Forest Hospital’s inpatient care and focus there instead on serving outpatients. Savings: $55 million.
• Convert Provident mainly into an outpatient facility with some short inpatient stays. Savings: $17 million.
• Total savings: $72 million.

The health panel has the capability of providing great savings to taxpayers’ and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Cook County’s health system. Will they take the charge?