Aug 8

Aug 8 Weiss Memorial Closed

Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Protest, Public Declarations

Sometime around 12:15 PM today, I was enjoying a grilled chicken sandwich while scrolling through the headlines on my iPad. When I clicked on the Chicago Tribune app, the headline jumped out at me, “Weiss Hospital, Set to Lose Medicare Funding this Weekend. Supporters to Rally this Afternoon.” All I wanted to know was when. Skimming the article, the 1:00 PM starttime popped out. How was I supposed to make it from downtown to the hospital in less than 45 minutes? Simple. Begin by skipping my shave and shower.

i then walked from my gym to bus stop on LaSalle. Luckily, the 156 was in sight, so no wait. Hopping off at Belmont and inner Lake Shore Drive, I ran the three blocks to my apartment, grabbed three preloaded cameras, and then headed back out. While standing at the bus stop, I hailed a passing cab. At 1:15 PM. I was standing outside the hospital. I was 15 minutes late, but I suspected the speeches would last until at least 2:00 PM, so plenty of time to snag images.

Exiting the cab, I noticed eight or nine video cameras mounted on tripods, all neatly arrayed. As I had assumed, the closure of Weiss Memorial Hospital was big news. CBS 2, NBC 5. ABC 7, Fox 32, WGN, WTTW, and Telemundo had all sent crews. The Medicare cuts in Donald J. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill had claimed their first victim; at least that was the thought on continuous rotation in my head, which made the closure a significant milestone in the Age of Trump.

When I arrived, 30 to 40 people were gathered behind State Senator Mike Simmons, who was delivering a speech. Several demonstrators were holding signs, but nothing particularly elaborate; just a few meager words in magic marker scrawled on white cardboard.

Opened in 1952, Weiss Memorial had in recent years become a losing proposition, at least financially. When Resilience Healthcare, a for-profit entity, purchased the hospital in 2022, the facility had already experienced $30 million in annual losses for several years running. Additionally, it and its sister hospital, West Suburban Medical Center, had racked up $81 million in debt.

With 80% of its patients on Medicare (50%) and Medicaid (30%), the hospital was highly dependent on federal reimbursements. Rhona Jones, a former employee and now a patient, described it as the Cook County [Hospital] of the Northside.” Other speakers chose the phrase “safety-net hospital.” They then described the hospital’s patients as largely comprised of the poor, elderly, and people of color. Illinois state representative Hoan Huynh called the hospital the “Ellis Island of the Midwest” because it serves so many migrants.

Disaster struck in mid-June, when the hospital’s air conditioning failed, forcing administrators to transfer patients to other hospitals and to cease admitting new patients. The system has yet to be restored. Several speakers indicated that the hospital has had no inpatients in recent days.

The Illinois Department of Public Health conducted at least seven inspections over the last five years. Officials reported that the hospital’s nursing and emergency services were not in compliance with state law. According to CBS News 2, the department also uncovered patient mistreatment, including inappropriate use of restraints, failure to obtain necessary patient consents, and failure to monitor for suicide when the circumstances warranted. One hospital director told state officials that the hospital did not have a tourniquet to apply to a patient who had had his hand blown off during an incident involving fireworks.

The hospital’s problems have been exacerbated by an apparently out-of-date billing system, which has slowed revenue collections. Its financial problems were brought to a head this week when the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding as of today. In response, Resilience CEO Dr. Manoj Prasad announced that the hospital would close what remained of its emergency room and inpatient services. At a news conference earlier in the day, Dr. Prasad indicated that Resilience would appeal CMS’s decision, but that the process could take up to 12 months.

The hospital will keep its medical office building open. It is also offering limited outpatient services and testing, but even those services are now at risk of discontinuance.

The demonstrators were largely elderly neighborhood residents who rely on the hospital for health care. If I heard her correctly, one speaker noted that Weiss Memorial is not the best hospital, but it is nearby, which is important in an emergency.

As is always the case, between speeches, the demonstrators broke into chants, the most frequent one being “People over profits; Health care is a human right.”

One speaker referenced $8 million that allegedly had found its way into owners’ pockets, instead of being used for facility repairs and upgrades. I assume the speaker was referring to the $8 million that the hospital received when it sold a parking lot to a developer, who subsequently used the land to construct a 300-unit apartment building. At least one speaker objected to the possibility that the hospital now would be sold and razed, replaced by luxury condominiums.

Toward the end of the hour-long demonstration, Marc Kaplan enumerated the following four demands: (i) CMS immediately reinstate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to Weiss for two months; (ii) government officials and billionaires work together toward the reopening of the hospital; (iii) Senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth break their silence over the closure; and (iv) the $8 million be used to make necessary repairs. Given the current landscape, the reference to billionaires was laughable, but maybe that was Kaplan’s point.

Returning to Donald J. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. It includes over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid funding over the next 10 years. The central question is whether the states will fill the resulting funding gap. Trump’s bill also reduced subsidies to fund Affordable Care (aka “Obama Care”) insurance plans. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (“CBO”), the reduction in subsidies could result in four million people losing insurance coverage. The CBO estimates another 13 million will lose coverage by 2034.

To my knowledge, the changes to Medicaid are backloaded, not taking effect until after the 2026 mid-term election, while the tax cuts go into effect this year. The Big Beautiful Bill may not be directly responsible for the closures at Weiss Memorial, but the cynic in me nevertheless wonders whether the owners saw the handwriting on the wall, thereby precipitating today’s closure. Why continue to invest money if the hospital’s inevitable demise is just a few years down the road?

If I were a demonstrator, I’d take a long look at the signage taped to the front door of the emergency room: “THE NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM IS AT THOREK HOSPITAL 850 W. IRVING PARK RD. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60613”

By the way, why didn’t Mayor Brandon show up at today’s event?

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]