Loyola Patient Fears Losing Medicaid Could be a Death Sentence
June 25, 2025CONTACT:
Allison Peters
allison.peters@luhs.org
708-216-6140
MAYWOOD, IL – For 60-year-old Jeanette Wilkins, losing her Medicaid coverage would be what she calls "a death sentence”. Wilkins has heart failure, a hereditary condition she manages with daily medication. Her Medicaid coverage pays for a large percentage of her medication, which could cost up to $927 a month if she were no longer covered.
The federal budget resolution currently under consideration in Washington, DC, proposes $880 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program. This could be devastating to the 3.4 million Illinois residents who rely on Medicaid, including Wilkins. Wilkins qualified for Medicaid after heart failure left her unable to work. For the past four years, Medicaid has covered most of her medication costs.
“Without Medicaid, I would likely die,” said Wilkins. “I need the medication to be able to live and function.” Wilkins requires medication twice daily to maintain what she considers a “half-life”. Her current heart function is 30% and she can no longer work or perform many of the activities she enjoyed before her condition deteriorated. She misses going to work and the financial security it provided.
Wilkins finds solace in the fact that her condition didn’t stem from lifestyle choices like drinking, smoking, or partying; it’s a genetic condition. Tragically, one of her four children inherited her condition and died at 28 from heart failure.
“Medicaid is a lifeline to not just me, but to millions of people who have worked for years and paid into the system for a rainy day, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. Many people still aren’t getting the proper medical attention that they need and a lot of people are dying.”
Medicaid is a means of survival for 3.4 million people in Illinois, including older adults, people with disabilities and 3 in 8 children. Losing access to this coverage could be a matter of life and death for some. “People should not have to choose whether to eat or to buy their medication,” said Wilkins.
"Jeanette is one of many patients at Loyola Medicine who depend on Medicaid,” said Shawn P. Vincent, president and CEO of Loyola Medicine. “We have a responsibility to care for our patients, and these proposed cuts would significantly harm thousands of individuals in the communities we serve, as well as hospitals and healthcare workers across Illinois."
About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
Established in 1961, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital is a 235-licensed-bed community hospital in Melrose Park that includes the Judd A. Weinberg Emergency Department, the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center, acute rehabilitation, a transitional care center, childcare center and fitness center. Founded in 1919, MacNeal Hospital is a 349-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Berwyn with advanced medical, surgical and psychiatric services and a 68-bed behavioral health program.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).