Chicago Medicine Magazine

Chicago Medicine magazine is an annual issue that updates members on the workings of the Society, including committee structure, CMS Council makeup, and upcoming events. The publication also addresses broad issues of concern to physicians across all specialties with original articles by local doctors on technical and non-technical topics, historical essays, opinion pieces, and human interest stories. Regular departments include a column by the CMS president, and legal and financial advice.

National platform bringing together the entire healthcare ecosystem, focused on health innovation and transformation. From industry-leading speakers to inspirational digital content and mission driven initiatives, HLTH creates a unique marketplace for the health community leading the dialogue and development of a better health ecosystem. For more information: Go to https://hlth.com/2025event or contact info@hlth.com.

By Mark Taylor Erik Mikaitis, M.D., the recently appointed chief executive officer of Cook County Health (CCH), exudes the quiet confidence of a veteran ship captain who knows the job and the waters. Dr. Mikaitis will need both as he navigates the usual challenges of leading a vast public health and hospital system, along with keen judgment and sage advice as he contends with unexpected, potentially dangerous hidden obstacles like massive threatened federal spending cuts.

With Republicans in control, a key health benefit for millions that has boosted provider reimbursement, is at risk By Phil Galewitz UNDER PRESIDENT Joe Biden, enrollment in Medicaid hit a record high and the uninsured rate reached a record low. Donald Trump’s return to the White House—along with a GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives—is expected to change that.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services was selected to participate in a payment model designed to improve health outcomes for pregnant women insured by Medicaid By Bruce Japsen Illinois was selected to participate in a new model designed to support state Medicaid agencies in developing a “whole-person approach to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care” for poor Americans.

The Chicago area’s largest health system wants to boost health equity on Chicago’s South Side where life expectancy lags the North Side by three decades By Bruce Japsen Advocate Health Care is spending 1 billion to re-invent healthcare on the city’s South Side in neighborhoods where there’s a 30-year life-expectancy gap when compared to the more affluent North Side.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois continues to dominate Chicago’s commercial health insurance plan market with 61% share By Bruce Japsen ESCALATING consolidation in the health insurance industry has led to 95% of the commercial markets being “highly concentrated,” threatening patient choice of physicians and contributing to higher costs, according to a new report.

Condoms and over-the-counter birth control would be free for the first time to women of reproductive age By Bruce Japsen The Biden administration is proposing a rule designed to expand access to over-the-counter contraceptive products including condoms, birth control and emergency contraception.

Average annual family premiums for employer coverage eclipse $25,000 annually by Bruce Japsen ANNUAL FAMILY premiums for employer coverage rose 7% this year to more than $25,000—an annual cost shared between workers and the businesses they work for, according to KFF’s 2024 benchmark Employer Health Survey. Of the total $25,572 cost on average, workers are contributing $6,296 to the cost they contribute from their paychecks for their share of the total employer-paid premium.

DESPITE the boom in popularity of expensive GLP-1 drugs to treat weight loss, fewer than one in five large employers are covering such prescriptions. And even those employers that do cover these drugs, which include Wegovy, Rybelsus, Saxenda, Zepbound and Ozempic, such coverage comes with conditions. GLP-1 drugs, or Glucagon-like peptide-1agonists, are used to help control blood sugar levels in people with type-2 diabetes and have also been shown to effectively help people lose weight.