Illinois looking less appealing for physicians

Illinois ranked near the bottom of the country at 45th place with a D on the 2014 American College of Emergency Physicians’ state-by-state report card on America’s emergency care environment, a striking decline from the 27th place showing and grade C it earned in 2009 on the same report.

Illinois earned a D in the category of Access to Emergency Care. The state has increased the number of emergency physicians, neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons and nurses since 2009, but dwindling Medicaid reimbursement rates threaten access to care for the state’s Medicaid patients. To improve access to primary care for these patients, Illinois must increase Medicaid payments.

The state was ranked 50th in the nation for Medical Liability Environment, which is largely due to significant setbacks that left Illinois virtually without medical liability reforms in place to discourage frivolous lawsuits. Average insurance premiums for primary care physicians are the second highest in the country.

Our state has become a sort of judicial hellhole for medical professionals and runs the risk of our losing qualified physicians and medical professionals.

Sudip Bose, M.D. Chicago