Oct. 12--Two hospital advocacy groups in Illinois have finalized plans to merge, with the goal of creating a more powerful voice on health care issues.
The Illinois Hospital Association, which represents more than 200 hospitals and nearly 50 health systems around the state, and the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, which represents more than 150 local hospitals and organizations, said Monday that their boards have agreed to join forces.
The combined group will be formally called the Illinois Health and Hospital Association but will go by the abbreviation IHA. It will have offices in Chicago, Naperville, Springfield and Washington, D.C. The merger will take effect in January.
The two groups said their memberships largely overlap. The combined organization will have more than 200 health system and hospital members.
Goals will include strengthening advocacy for health care issues and improving performance at hospitals and health systems, according to a news release. Their aim is to give members more tools to cope with the rapidly changing health care climate.
Hospitals have been fighting reduced reimbursements from the government and are looking for ways to become more efficient. They are also navigating how to survive and prosper under new rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under which they are increasingly rewarded for the quality of care rather than for the volume of patients they treat.
Maryjane Wurth, president and chief executive of the Illinois Hospital Association, will lead the combined organizations. Dan Yunker, president and chief executive of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Organization, will become executive president.
The organizations declined to say whether any jobs will be cut as a result of the merger.
jrussell@tribpub.com
