EMERGENCY PURCHASE STATEMENT

Page 1 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services Emergency Purchase Statement v.26.1

Emergency Purchases are conducted pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-30 and 44 Ill. Adm. Code 1.2030.

Zip: 02114State:MA City:BostonAddress: 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1600

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health

Emergency Purchase Details BidBuy Reference #: B- 53490

Emergency Condition (select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu below):

To ensure integrity of State records

Provide a description and reasons for needing this emergency purchase:

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) requests approval of an emergency procurement pursuant to Section 20 30 of the Illinois Procurement Code (30 ILCS 500/20 30(a)) to prevent and minimize serious disruption to critical State public health services affecting the health and safety of Illinois residents.

Public Act 104-0470 created a new statutory responsibility requiring IDPH to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027. The Act became effective on July 1, 2026, and requires the Department to evaluate patient access to health care throughout Illinois, assess the stability of the State's health care delivery system, analyze the impacts of recent federal health care policy changes, including H.R. 1, and develop evidence-based policy recommendations to protect access to care. The legislation expressly authorizes IDPH to engage a qualified third-party research entity to complete this work.

This procurement is necessary because Illinois is experiencing an immediate and evolving public health challenge resulting from significant federal changes to Medicaid financing and reimbursement, combined with increasing financial instability among hospitals and other health care providers throughout the State. These conditions threaten the continued availability of essential health care services, particularly in rural, underserved, and safety net communities. Without timely analysis and policy recommendations, the State's ability to respond to these conditions before the most significant federal changes take effect will be substantially impaired.

The services to be procured will provide the research, data analysis, fiscal modeling, stakeholder engagement, and policy evaluation necessary for IDPH to identify risks to the State's health care delivery system, evaluate the potential effects on hospitals and health care providers, and develop recommendations to preserve access to essential medical services. This work will directly support State decision makers in evaluating strategies to reduce the risk of additional hospital service reductions or closures, maintain access to emergency, maternal, pediatric, behavioral health, and other critical health services, and protect the health and safety of Illinois residents.

The statutory mandate became effective with insufficient time to complete a standard competitive procurement while also completing the extensive statewide research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and report development required by law before the January 31, 2027 deadline. Delaying the procurement to conduct a traditional competitive solicitation would significantly reduce the time available to perform the required work and increase the risk that Illinois would be unable to obtain the evidence-based analysis necessary to inform critical health care policy and funding decisions before the federal changes become effective. Illinois needs to stay ahead of any unpredictable shifts and changes as the last one year has demonstrated that there is very limited advance warning to federal actions involving regulatory, policy and funding streams.

Emergency procurement is necessary to prevent disruption to IDPH's ability to carry out its statutory public health responsibilities and to ensure the Governor and General Assembly receive timely, objective, and evidence-based information needed to protect the continuity of critical health care services affecting the health and safety of the people of Illinois.

Page 2 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) requests approval of an emergency procurement to obtain specialized health policy research and analysis services necessary to satisfy a new statutory mandate, 20 ILCS 2310/2310-716, which went into effect July 1, 2026.

The statute requires IDPH, in partnership with relevant State agencies and with the advice of stakeholders and subject matter experts, to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.

The report must evaluate patient access to health care throughout Illinois, analyze the current and projected stability of the State's health care delivery system, assess the impacts of recent federal policy changes, including H.R. 1, and provide evidence-based policy recommendations to strengthen access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities. The legislation expressly authorizes the Department to engage a qualified third-party research entity to develop the report.

H.R. 1 The requirement was enacted during the final days of the 2026 legislative session and became effective on July 1, 2026. It was necessitated by the imminent implementation of HR1, federal legislation that will dramatically change the healthcare landscape in Illinois. HR1 creates an unprecedented policy crisis for the State by fundamentally changing the financing and administration of Medicaid while simultaneously increasing the number of uninsured residents. Restrictions on the State’s ability to use decades old tools such a provider taxes and state directed payments to finance the health care system coupled with up to 300,000 residents losing Medicaid coverage will mean billions less in funding will be available for health care needs, leaving hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and other safety-net providers to continue to serve these patients without reimbursement. The most onerous provisions of HR1 begin to take effect in January of 2027.

This crisis, coupled with the statutory timeline to deliver the report, leave insufficient time to complete a standard competitive procurement while still allowing IDPH adequate time to perform the extensive research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and report development required by statute.

Emergency procurement is necessary to ensure IDPH can evaluate the potential impacts of federal funding and policy changes on Illinois' health care system, including financial risks to hospitals, health care providers, and patient access to essential services before the statutorily created deadline of January 31, 2027, in order to inform effective state investment in the IL health care system. The resulting analysis will provide the Governor and General Assembly with timely information needed to evaluate potential fiscal impacts to Illinois, identify risks to health care access and hospital sustainability, and develop policy recommendations before additional changes affect the State's health care delivery system.

Without emergency procurement, IDPH risks being unable to complete the legislatively mandated report by January 31, 2027, depriving state agencies access to critical information necessary to make informed policy and budgetary decisions affecting the health and welfare of Illinois residents. With the increasing trend of hospital closures and lack of patient care and access spreading due to financial distress, IDPH needs this report prior to next fiscal year to further dictate its plan to alleviate the impending health care crisis and determine the nature and extent of relief that needs to be immediately directed to them.

Community hospitals, rural hospitals and safety net hospitals specifically, are at grave risk of mass closures whether it is the discontinuation or closure of an entire facility, or a suspension of a specific category of service. OB, surgical, and pediatric services are being impacted significantly within the last year. IDPH provided more than 100 million dollars in relief funding to safety net hospitals in this fiscal year through legislative allocations but that may not be sustainable through the next fiscal year and so there is an urgent need for legislative policy proposals to address both the impending healthcare fiscal crisis as well as the population health crisis that will hit Illinois as of January 1, 2027, when HR1 requirements take effect. Over 300,000 Illinois residents will lose their Medicaid coverage by Jan 1, 2027, and therefore, the urgency of the report which is due is Jan 31, 2027, makes it imperative that we are able to effectively and successfully deliver meaningful recommendations to protect the health of the people in IL.

Page 3 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health

Provide the conditions and circumstances that led to the need for this emergency purchase:

The Illinois General Assembly enacted Article 257 of Public Act 104 during the final days of the 2026 legislative session, creating a new statutory requirement directing the Illinois Department of Public Health to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly by January 31, 2027. The Act became effective on July 1, 2026, leaving the Department with approximately seven months to complete a complex statewide assessment requiring extensive research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and preparation of a comprehensive report.

During this same period, Illinois is facing significant uncertainty resulting from recent federal policy changes under H.R. 1 and continued financial pressures affecting hospitals and health care providers throughout the State. These conditions create an immediate need for objective, evidence based analysis to evaluate the potential impacts on State finances, health care access, hospital sustainability, workforce capacity, and the continuity of essential health care services, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

The project work plan requires approximately twenty eight weeks to complete. Conducting a standard competitive procurement would substantially reduce the time available to perform the work required by statute, creating a significant risk that the Department would be unable to complete the report by the legislative deadline. Any delay would also postpone the availability of critical information needed by the Governor and General Assembly to evaluate the fiscal and policy implications of changing federal funding, assess risks to the Illinois health care system, and consider strategies to reduce the potential for additional hospital service reductions or closures.

Immediate procurement is therefore necessary to ensure compliance with the statutory mandate and to provide State leadership with timely, evidence based information needed to support policy and budget decisions affecting the health care system and the residents of Illinois.

Reason for selection of this particular vendor:

Public Act 104-0470 expressly authorizes the Illinois Department of Public Health to engage a qualified third- party research entity to develop the required report. The Department has identified that the Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital possesses the specialized and unique expertise, organizational capacity, and multidisciplinary resources necessary to immediately perform the required work and complete all statutory deliverables within the compressed legislative timeframe.

The Mongan Institute has nationally recognized expertise in health policy research, health care access, epidemiology, health services research, health economics, and complex data analysis. The organization has extensive experience conducting large scale, evidence- based evaluations of health care systems, developing policy recommendations, and coordinating research involving multiple governmental entities, stakeholders, and subject matter experts.

The Mongan Institute is a community of leading scientists and programs in population and healthcare delivery science dedicated to transforming healthcare locally, nationally, and globally. The Mongan Institute's research and training program is based in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital with collaborations across MGH, Mass General Brigham, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Spanning data science to delivery science, and evaluative science to implementation science, the Mongan Institute is uniquely positioned to leverage the extraordinary research environment of MGH, as well as national and international collaborators, to solve the most complex challenges in healthcare. With more than 175 research faculty publishing over 1,600 peer-reviewed articles annually, The Mongan Institute includes expertise in areas such as epidemiology, biostatistics, predictive analytics, cost-effectiveness, Page 4 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health outcomes research, intervention, and implementation research, health policy, health behavior, decision science, primary care, behavioral health, aging and serious illness and health disparities research. IDPH believes that utilizing an independent, nationally recognized research institution located outside Illinois provides an objective evaluation of the State's health care system and reduces the potential for perceived or actual conflicts of interest that could arise if an organization with direct operational or financial interests in the Illinois health care delivery system were selected to perform the analysis.

Non-academic health policy consultants would not be able to contribute the level of methodological rigor that academic researchers will be able to provide this report that will require extremely high standards in order to effectively inform health policy reform for the entire state. Given the short timeline which will entail only three months to be able to ingest and interpret extensive amounts of data from multiple sources, other academic institutions with nationally reputed health policy expertise appear to be unable to successfully dedicate the resources needed to complete the report in the short timeline. The Mongan Institute has demonstrated the ability to immediately dedicate qualified personnel, establish project governance, coordinate with multiple State agencies and stakeholders, and complete the work necessary to meet the January 31, 2027, statutory deadline.

Description of supplies or services to be provided:

The contractor shall provide professional research, policy analysis, and consulting services to assist the Illinois Department of Public Health in fulfilling the requirements of 20 ILCS 2310/2310-716 by developing the statutorily required report for submission to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.

Services shall include, but are not limited to:

• Project initiation, project management, and development of a comprehensive project work plan.

• Coordination with the Illinois Department of Public Health, other State agencies, stakeholders, health care providers, and subject matter experts.

• Development of project governance, stakeholder engagement strategies, meeting schedules, and data governance protocols.

• Collection, aggregation, validation, and analysis of health care, demographic, epidemiological, utilization, workforce, financial, and other relevant data from State agencies and other appropriate sources

• Assessment of patient access to health care services throughout Illinois, including evaluation of geographic, economic, and demographic barriers to care.

• Evaluation of the current and projected financial stability of hospitals and other health care providers, including analysis of factors that may contribute to reductions in services or facility closures, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

• Analysis of the potential impacts of recent federal legislation, including H.R. 1, on Illinois' health care delivery system, Medicaid and other health care funding, provider reimbursement, hospital operations, and the State's fiscal obligations.

• Review and evaluation of applicable State and federal statutes, regulations, waiver programs, and health policy initiatives affecting health care access, quality, financing, and population health.

• Development of evidence-based policy options, implementation strategies, fiscal impact analyses, and recommendations to strengthen health care access, improve system sustainability, and support informed legislative and executive decision making.

• Preparation of all required project deliverables, including a Project Charter, Stakeholder Engagement Matrix, Data Governance Protocols, Health Care Access Assessment, Fiscal and Policy Impact Analysis, Hospital Stability Assessment, Policy Recommendation Matrix, Draft Comprehensive Report, Executive Summary, Legislative Briefing Materials, and the Final Report.

• Presentation of findings and recommendations to the Illinois Department of Public Health and other designated State officials, including revisions necessary to produce the final report required by Section 2310-716.

Page 5 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health

• All services shall be completed in accordance with the project schedule to ensure submission of the final report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.

Emergency procurements shall be made with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances, and agencies shall utilize best efforts to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in its emergency procurement process. 30 ILCS 500/20-30(a).

Describe the actions taken by the agency to make the emergency purchase with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances:

Upon becoming aware of the statutory requirement, IDPH evaluated the procurement methods available to obtain the required services within the limited timeframe established by Article 257 of Public Act 104. The Department determined that conducting a standard competitive procurement would not provide sufficient time for proposal development, evaluation, contract execution, and completion of the extensive research and analysis required before the January 31, 2027, statutory deadline.

IDPH conducted market research to identify organizations with nationally recognized expertise in health policy research, health care systems analysis, epidemiology, health economics, and large-scale health services evaluation that could immediately dedicate qualified personnel and resources to the project. The Department reached out to national public health leaders through the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers to determine which academic health policy leaders would have the ability to complete this report. The Department considered organizations based on their demonstrated experience conducting independent health policy research, ability to coordinate with multiple governmental entities and stakeholders, capacity to perform complex statewide analyses, and ability to complete all required deliverables within the compressed project schedule even with the Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital appears to have the ability to immediately initiate the project while providing the independent, objective analysis contemplated by the statute.

Under the emergency circumstances, the Department obtained the maximum level of competition practicable while preserving its ability to comply with the legislatively mandated completion date and provide timely information needed to evaluate the impacts of federal policy changes, fiscal risks to the State, and potential effects on Illinois hospitals and health care access.

List the actions taken by the agency that constitute its best efforts to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in this emergency purchase:

IDPH made best efforts to identify Business Enterprise Program (BEP) certified vendors capable of performing the required services within the emergency timeframe. The Department reviewed the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion Business Enterprise Program Directory and evaluated whether certified vendors possessed the specialized expertise, organizational capacity, and ability to immediately perform the highly technical health policy research, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and report development required by Section 2310-716.

IDPH did not identify any BEP certified vendors with the demonstrated qualifications and immediate capacity necessary to complete the required services within the compressed statutory timeframe. Given the emergency circumstances, the highly specialized nature of the work, and the legislative deadline, additional outreach would have delayed the procurement without a reasonable expectation of identifying a qualified BEP certified contractor capable of meeting the State's requirements.

Documentation of the Department's Business Enterprise Program review and market research will be maintained in the official

Page 6 of 6State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services

Vendor: Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center / Massachusetts General Hospital

Zip: 62702State: ILCity:SpringfieldAddress: 535 West Jefferson

Division: Directors OfficeAgency: Illinois Department of Public Health procurement file.

Is there an active State contract available for the required supplies or services? Yes No

This emergency contract was awarded on the earliest of these dates: (choose one) the State agency communicated to the vendor to start work publication on the Bulletin identified the selected vendor the contract was signed by both parties

Amount ($) of this expenditure is: $1,248,000 Amount is Actual or Estimated*: Estimated

*Pursuant to 44 Ill. Admin. 1.2030 (f)(5), if Estimated is indicated, an Emergency Final Cost form will be submitted by the State agency and published by the State Purchasing Officer no later than the tenth day of the succeeding month. If Actual is chosen and the total cost differs from the amount on this statement, an Emergency Final Cost form must be submitted and published within the same timeframe.

Select the type of funding to be used: Federal Funds State Appropriated Funds State Grant Funds Other

Signature This emergency purchase was made with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances. Best efforts were utilized to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in the process.

I am authorized to make this emergency purchase, and I know and understand the contents of this statement and all statements herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Agency Signature: Title: APO

Printed Name: Mike Caceres Date: Jul 28, 2026

State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services Emergency Purchase Statement V.26.1 Page of

EMERGENCY PURCHASE STATEMENT

Page of State of Illinois Chief Procurement Office for General Services Emergency Purchase Statement v.26.1 Emergency Purchases are conducted pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-30 and 44 Ill. Adm. Code 1.2030.

Emergency Purchase Details Emergency Condition (select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu below):

Provide a description and reasons for needing this emergency purchase:

Provide the conditions and circumstances that led to the need for this emergency purchase:

Reason for selection of this particular vendor:

Description of supplies or services to be provided:

Emergency procurements shall be made with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances, and agencies shall utilize best efforts to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in its emergency procurement process. 30 ILCS 500/20-30(a).

Describe the actions taken by the agency to make the emergency purchase with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances:

List the actions taken by the agency that constitute its best efforts to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in this emergency purchase:

Is there an active State contract available for the required supplies or services?

If Yes is checked above, explain why the existing contract does not meet the need:

This emergency contract was awarded on the earliest of these dates: (choose one) *Pursuant to 44 Ill. Admin. 1.2030 (f)(5), if Estimated is indicated, an Emergency Final Cost form will be submitted by the State agency and published by the State Purchasing Officer no later than the tenth day of the succeeding month. If Actual is chosen and the total cost differs from the amount on this statement, an Emergency Final Cost form must be submitted and published within the same timeframe.

Select the type of funding to be used:

Signature This emergency purchase was made with as much competition as is practicable under the circumstances. Best efforts were utilized to include contractors certified under the Business Enterprise Program in the process.

I am authorized to make this emergency purchase, and I know and understand the contents of this statement and all statements herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

11.0.0.20130303.1.892433.887364

Public Act 104-0470 created a new statutory responsibility requiring IDPH to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027. The Act became effective on July 1, 2026, and requires the Department to evaluate patient access to health care throughout Illinois, assess the stability of the State's health care delivery system, analyze the impacts of recent federal health care policy changes, including H.R. 1, and develop evidence-based policy recommendations to protect access to care. The legislation expressly authorizes IDPH to engage a qualified third-party research entity to complete this work.

This procurement is necessary because Illinois is experiencing an immediate and evolving public health challenge resulting from significant federal changes to Medicaid financing and reimbursement, combined with increasing financial instability among hospitals and other health care providers throughout the State. These conditions threaten the continued availability of essential health care services, particularly in rural, underserved, and safety net communities. Without timely analysis and policy recommendations, the State's ability to respond to these conditions before the most significant federal changes take effect will be substantially impaired.

The services to be procured will provide the research, data analysis, fiscal modeling, stakeholder engagement, and policy evaluation necessary for IDPH to identify risks to the State's health care delivery system, evaluate the potential effects on hospitals and health care providers, and develop recommendations to preserve access to essential medical services. This work will directly support State decision makers in evaluating strategies to reduce the risk of additional hospital service reductions or closures, maintain access to emergency, maternal, pediatric, behavioral health, and other critical health services, and protect the health and safety of Illinois residents.

The statutory mandate became effective with insufficient time to complete a standard competitive procurement while also completing the extensive statewide research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and report development required by law before the January 31, 2027 deadline. Delaying the procurement to conduct a traditional competitive solicitation would significantly reduce the time available to perform the required work and increase the risk that Illinois would be unable to obtain the evidence-based analysis necessary to inform critical health care policy and funding decisions before the federal changes become effective. Illinois needs to stay ahead of any unpredictable shifts and changes as the last one year has demonstrated that there is very limited advance warning to federal actions involving regulatory, policy and funding streams.

Emergency procurement is necessary to prevent disruption to IDPH's ability to carry out its statutory public health responsibilities and to ensure the Governor and General Assembly receive timely, objective, and evidence-based information needed to protect the continuity of critical health care services affecting the health and safety of the people of Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) requests approval of an emergency procurement to obtain specialized health policy research and analysis services necessary to satisfy a new statutory mandate, 20 ILCS 2310/2310-716, which went into effect July 1, 2026.

The statute requires IDPH, in partnership with relevant State agencies and with the advice of stakeholders and subject matter experts, to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027. The report must evaluate patient access to health care throughout Illinois, analyze the current and projected stability of the State's health care delivery system, assess the impacts of recent federal policy changes, including H.R. 1, and provide evidence-based policy recommendations to strengthen access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities. The legislation expressly authorizes the Department to engage a qualified third-party research entity to develop the report.

H.R. 1 The requirement was enacted during the final days of the 2026 legislative session and became effective on July 1, 2026. It was necessitated by the imminent implementation of HR1, federal legislation that will dramatically change the healthcare landscape in Illinois. HR1 creates an unprecedented policy crisis for the State by fundamentally changing the financing and administration of Medicaid while simultaneously increasing the number of uninsured residents. Restrictions on the State’s ability to use decades old tools such a provider taxes and state directed payments to finance the health care system coupled with up to 300,000 residents losing Medicaid coverage will mean billions less in funding will be available for health care needs, leaving hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and other safety-net providers to continue to serve these patients without reimbursement. The most onerous provisions of HR1 begin to take effect in January of 2027.

This crisis, coupled with the statutory timeline to deliver the report, leave insufficient time to complete a standard competitive procurement while still allowing IDPH adequate time to perform the extensive research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and report development required by statute.

Emergency procurement is necessary to ensure IDPH can evaluate the potential impacts of federal funding and policy changes on Illinois' health care system, including financial risks to hospitals, health care providers, and patient access to essential services before the statutorily created deadline of January 31, 2027, in order to inform effective state investment in the IL health care system. The resulting analysis will provide the Governor and General Assembly with timely information needed to evaluate potential fiscal impacts to Illinois, identify risks to health care access and hospital sustainability, and develop policy recommendations before additional changes affect the State's health care delivery system.

Without emergency procurement, IDPH risks being unable to complete the legislatively mandated report by January 31, 2027, depriving state agencies access to critical information necessary to make informed policy and budgetary decisions affecting the health and welfare of Illinois residents. With the increasing trend of hospital closures and lack of patient care and access spreading due to financial distress, IDPH needs this report prior to next fiscal year to further dictate its plan to alleviate the impending health care crisis and determine the nature and extent of relief that needs to be immediately directed to them. Community hospitals, rural hospitals and safety net hospitals specifically, are at grave risk of mass closures whether it is the discontinuation or closure of an entire facility, or a suspension of a specific category of service. OB, surgical, and pediatric services are being impacted significantly within the last year. IDPH provided more than 100 million dollars in relief funding to safety net hospitals in this fiscal year through legislative allocations but that may not be sustainable through the next fiscal year and so there is an urgent need for legislative policy proposals to address both the impending healthcare fiscal crisis as well as the population health crisis that will hit Illinois as of January 1, 2027, when HR1 requirements take effect. Over 300,000 Illinois residents will lose their Medicaid coverage by Jan 1, 2027, and therefore, the urgency of the report which is due is Jan 31, 2027, makes it imperative that we are able to effectively and successfully deliver meaningful recommendations to protect the health of the people in IL.

TextField4: The Illinois General Assembly enacted Article 257 of Public Act 104 during the final days of the 2026 legislative session, creating a new statutory requirement directing the Illinois Department of Public Health to develop and submit a comprehensive report to the Governor and General Assembly by January 31, 2027. The Act became effective on July 1, 2026, leaving the Department with approximately seven months to complete a complex statewide assessment requiring extensive research, stakeholder engagement, data collection, policy analysis, and preparation of a comprehensive report.

During this same period, Illinois is facing significant uncertainty resulting from recent federal policy changes under H.R. 1 and continued financial pressures affecting hospitals and health care providers throughout the State. These conditions create an immediate need for objective, evidence based analysis to evaluate the potential impacts on State finances, health care access, hospital sustainability, workforce capacity, and the continuity of essential health care services, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

The project work plan requires approximately twenty eight weeks to complete. Conducting a standard competitive procurement would substantially reduce the time available to perform the work required by statute, creating a significant risk that the Department would be unable to complete the report by the legislative deadline. Any delay would also postpone the availability of critical information needed by the Governor and General Assembly to evaluate the fiscal and policy implications of changing federal funding, assess risks to the Illinois health care system, and consider strategies to reduce the potential for additional hospital service reductions or closures.

Immediate procurement is therefore necessary to ensure compliance with the statutory mandate and to provide State leadership with timely, evidence based information needed to support policy and budget decisions affecting the health care system and the residents of Illinois.

ExplanationForSelectingVendor: Public Act 104-0470 expressly authorizes the Illinois Department of Public Health to engage a qualified third- party research entity to develop the required report. The Department has identified that the Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital possesses the specialized and unique expertise, organizational capacity, and multidisciplinary resources necessary to immediately perform the required work and complete all statutory deliverables within the compressed legislative timeframe.

The Mongan Institute has nationally recognized expertise in health policy research, health care access, epidemiology, health services research, health economics, and complex data analysis. The organization has extensive experience conducting large scale, evidence- based evaluations of health care systems, developing policy recommendations, and coordinating research involving multiple governmental entities, stakeholders, and subject matter experts.

The Mongan Institute is a community of leading scientists and programs in population and healthcare delivery science dedicated to transforming healthcare locally, nationally, and globally. The Mongan Institute's research and training program is based in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital with collaborations across MGH, Mass General Brigham, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Spanning data science to delivery science, and evaluative science to implementation science, the Mongan Institute is uniquely positioned to leverage the extraordinary research environment of MGH, as well as national and international collaborators, to solve the most complex challenges in healthcare. With more than 175 research faculty publishing over 1,600 peer-reviewed articles annually, The Mongan Institute includes expertise in areas such as epidemiology, biostatistics, predictive analytics, cost-effectiveness, outcomes research, intervention, and implementation research, health policy, health behavior, decision science, primary care, behavioral health, aging and serious illness and health disparities research. IDPH believes that utilizing an independent, nationally recognized research institution located outside Illinois provides an objective evaluation of the State's health care system and reduces the potential for perceived or actual conflicts of interest that could arise if an organization with direct operational or financial interests in the Illinois health care delivery system were selected to perform the analysis.

Non-academic health policy consultants would not be able to contribute the level of methodological rigor that academic researchers will be able to provide this report that will require extremely high standards in order to effectively inform health policy reform for the entire state. Given the short timeline which will entail only three months to be able to ingest and interpret extensive amounts of data from multiple sources, other academic institutions with nationally reputed health policy expertise appear to be unable to successfully dedicate the resources needed to complete the report in the short timeline. The Mongan Institute has demonstrated the ability to immediately dedicate qualified personnel, establish project governance, coordinate with multiple State agencies and stakeholders, and complete the work necessary to meet the January 31, 2027, statutory deadline.

ExplanationSuppliesServices: The contractor shall provide professional research, policy analysis, and consulting services to assist the Illinois Department of Public Health in fulfilling the requirements of 20 ILCS 2310/2310-716 by developing the statutorily required report for submission to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.

Services shall include, but are not limited to:

• Project initiation, project management, and development of a comprehensive project work plan.

• Coordination with the Illinois Department of Public Health, other State agencies, stakeholders, health care providers, and subject matter experts.

• Development of project governance, stakeholder engagement strategies, meeting schedules, and data governance protocols.

• Collection, aggregation, validation, and analysis of health care, demographic, epidemiological, utilization, workforce, financial, and other relevant data from State agencies and other appropriate sources

• Assessment of patient access to health care services throughout Illinois, including evaluation of geographic, economic, and demographic barriers to care.

• Evaluation of the current and projected financial stability of hospitals and other health care providers, including analysis of factors that may contribute to reductions in services or facility closures, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

• Analysis of the potential impacts of recent federal legislation, including H.R. 1, on Illinois' health care delivery system, Medicaid and other health care funding, provider reimbursement, hospital operations, and the State's fiscal obligations.

• Review and evaluation of applicable State and federal statutes, regulations, waiver programs, and health policy initiatives affecting health care access, quality, financing, and population health.

• Development of evidence-based policy options, implementation strategies, fiscal impact analyses, and recommendations to strengthen health care access, improve system sustainability, and support informed legislative and executive decision making.

• Preparation of all required project deliverables, including a Project Charter, Stakeholder Engagement Matrix, Data Governance Protocols, Health Care Access Assessment, Fiscal and Policy Impact Analysis, Hospital Stability Assessment, Policy Recommendation Matrix, Draft Comprehensive Report, Executive Summary, Legislative Briefing Materials, and the Final Report.

• Presentation of findings and recommendations to the Illinois Department of Public Health and other designated State officials, including revisions necessary to produce the final report required by Section 2310-716.

• All services shall be completed in accordance with the project schedule to ensure submission of the final report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.

TextField3: Upon becoming aware of the statutory requirement, IDPH evaluated the procurement methods available to obtain the required services within the limited timeframe established by Article 257 of Public Act 104. The Department determined that conducting a standard competitive procurement would not provide sufficient time for proposal development, evaluation, contract execution, and completion of the extensive research and analysis required before the January 31, 2027, statutory deadline.

IDPH conducted market research to identify organizations with nationally recognized expertise in health policy research, health care systems analysis, epidemiology, health economics, and large-scale health services evaluation that could immediately dedicate qualified personnel and resources to the project. The Department reached out to national public health leaders through the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers to determine which academic health policy leaders would have the ability to complete this report. The Department considered organizations based on their demonstrated experience conducting independent health policy research, ability to coordinate with multiple governmental entities and stakeholders, capacity to perform complex statewide analyses, and ability to complete all required deliverables within the compressed project schedule even with the Mongan Institute Health Policy Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital appears to have the ability to immediately initiate the project while providing the independent, objective analysis contemplated by the statute. Under the emergency circumstances, the Department obtained the maximum level of competition practicable while preserving its ability to comply with the legislatively mandated completion date and provide timely information needed to evaluate the impacts of federal policy changes, fiscal risks to the State, and potential effects on Illinois hospitals and health care access.

TextField1: IDPH made best efforts to identify Business Enterprise Program (BEP) certified vendors capable of performing the required services within the emergency timeframe. The Department reviewed the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion Business Enterprise Program Directory and evaluated whether certified vendors possessed the specialized expertise, organizational capacity, and ability to immediately perform the highly technical health policy research, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and report development required by Section 2310-716.

IDPH did not identify any BEP certified vendors with the demonstrated qualifications and immediate capacity necessary to complete the required services within the compressed statutory timeframe. Given the emergency circumstances, the highly specialized nature of the work, and the legislative deadline, additional outreach would have delayed the procurement without a reasonable expectation of identifying a qualified BEP certified contractor capable of meeting the State's requirements. Documentation of the Department's Business Enterprise Program review and market research will be maintained in the official procurement file.