2026 Policy Priorities

Individual and community experiences are shaped by policies and systems. To achieve a more just health care ecosystem, we must advance anti-racist policy and systems change that centers the communities most impacted and prioritizes transformation.

Legislative Priorities

• Establish a program to provide short-term universal newborn home visiting services to all families with newborns residing in the State
• Ensure all pregnant and postpartum people have access to high-quality pregnancy and obstetric care in their community
• Extend paid family and medical leave for all Illinoisans
• Expand and defend programs that meet the economic and material needs of families with infants
• Ensure all Illinois families have access to and insurance coverage for evidence-based vaccines
• Expand and defend policies and programs to ensure access to all family planning and reproductive health services, including abortion, in Illinois and across the country
• Defend the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, CHIP, and other programs that provide access to comprehensive health care from budget cuts and legislative or administrative changes that threaten the accessibility and affordability of health care
• Oppose cuts to health care and social support programs and support raising revenue fairly, which means those who have the greatest ability will contribute their fair share
• Defend health care anti-discrimination policies, especially for LGBT+, pregnant/postpartum, and immigrant populations

Administrative Priorities

• Engage and advise on state implementation of changes to Medicaid and SNAP resulting from the passage of H.R. 1 to minimize harm to IL communities and families
• Monitor and support the implementation of policies and programs in the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services that support the medical, social, and economic needs of pregnant and postpartum people and their families
• Introduce and advance policies to improve access to high-quality obstetric care in areas with low or no access to hospitals/birth centers offering obstetric care or obstetric providers
• Monitor and support the Family Recovery Plan Task Force’s activities and efforts to remove punitive policies that negatively affect newborns, pregnant/postpartum people, and families affected by substance use disorder
• Monitor and respond to administrative and executive actions at the federal level that threaten or undermine public health, including access to vaccines

EverThrive Illinois ensures that communities most impacted by injustice have the access, resources, and healthcare necessary to create and sustain healthy families on their own terms.

Kathy Waligora, Deputy Director of External Affairs, EverThrive Illinois; kwaligora@everthriveil.org