Cook County health officials form Medicaid Impact Work Group and launch getmedicaidfacts.com as federal eligibility changes loom

Cook County Health officials told the Health and Hospitals Committee on Monday that federal eligibility changes under HR 1 could cause thousands of Illinois residents to lose Medicaid and strain the county’s health safety net, and they unveiled an outreach campaign to reduce avoidable disenrollments.

Kathy Chan, director of policy at Cook County Health, said the county is preparing for three major changes tied to HR 1: a narrowed federal definition of "qualified immigrants" that will end Medicaid coverage for many humanitarian immigrants on Oct. 1, 2026; a shift to twice-yearly redeterminations for Affordable Care Act adults starting in January 2027; and a new work or community engagement requirement that beneficiaries will have to document (roughly 80 hours per month, as described by presenters). Chan said those changes create a compressed timeline for state and local systems to implement federal guidance and to notify and help enrollees maintain coverage.

Why it matters: County health leaders warned that administrative barriers — missed mailings, paperwork delays and…