Reproductive Health, Monkeypox, COVID Challenges For New IDPH Head

ILLINOIS — After leaders of the Illinois Department of Public Health remained in the spotlight for more than two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency’s new director takes over at a time when state health issues are especially pressing.

Dr. Sameer Vohra was officially introduced as the new IDPH director on Thursday as Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that Medicaid reimbursement rates for abortion services will be increasing by 20 percent in the next month.

The state also continues to deal with increasing COVID-19 cases and a relatively new health crisis — an outbreak of the monkeypox across Illinois.

Pritzker said that the increase in reimbursements to reproductive healthcare service providers will ensure that facilities can continue to provide care to women in the months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The governor said the state will also be eliminating hurdles in reproductive health billing for those covered by both Medicare and Medicaid so that providers can receive payments sooner.

IDPH will also be expanding its Illinois Family Planning program with an additional $2 million in grants for providers that offer family planning services, the governor said. With the increase, the total budget for the Title X program will expand to $13 million, Pritzker said. The services for families include pregnancy tests, fertility services, cancer screenings, and test kits for sexually transmitted diseases.

“No matter how bad other states treat women and their bodily autonomy, as long as I’m the governor of Illinois, we will continue to protect and support reproductive health providers and safeguard reproductive freedoms,” Pritzker said Thursday.

Pritzker this week issued a disaster declaration in regard to the monkeypox as more cases continue to be announced across Illinois. As of Monday, there were 520 confirmed or believed cases of monkeypox in the state, which officials are working to deal with effectively at a time when federal health issues on Thursday issued a national public health emergency over the illness.

But the governor praised Vohra, a pediatrician and healthcare policy expert who takes over leadership of the agency after Dr. Ngozi Ezike stepped down earlier this year.

Vohra, who steps into the role of IDPH director after serving as the chair of the Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine, joked with reporters Thursday when he said he hoped he wouldn’t be making daily appearances as his predecessor did during her stint.

But he admitted that he takes over IDPH at a critical time as state officials attempt to stay ahead of important issues while making sure that residents — especially those living in impoverished and underserved communities — receive proper care.

“I think healthcare should be a right and not a privilege, and I think it should be available to everyone,” Pritzker said at a news conference Thursday morning. “We’re trying very hard to expand it to everyone in the state of Illinois.”

Vohra said he will carry out the agency’s mission of providing Illinoisans with the healthcare services they need. He said such services are needed as federal health issues are expected to declare a state of emergency because of the monkeypox, which is among the challenges Vohra faces as he takes over as the state’s health director.

He said Illinoisans find themselves living in a time when “it is hard to feel protected” now 2 ½ years into the COVID-19 pandemic. After more than 34,000 residents lost their lives due to COVID-19 and pandemic-related illnesses, Vohra said the health department will continue to strive to protect residents from dangerous illnesses and disease.

Pritzker’s disaster declaration issued by Pritzker on Monday allows IDPH, Vohra said, to work with other agencies to help prevent the spread of monkeypox. Monkeypox is still considered a low risk to the general public in Illinois, he said, but Vohra vowed the state is working on getting more vaccines to deal with the disease.

Doses of the vaccines come from a federal stockpile, and Vohra said officials are working to get as much of the vaccines as they can be allotted to deal with the outbreak of new cases. He said health officials are prioritizing groups that may be most susceptible to being considered at risk for the disease.

In addition to monkeypox, Vohra said the state is also facing a crisis in dealing with gun violence and mental health issues that continue to claim lives, as well as an ongoing national threat of the loss of reproductive rights for women.

“It’s impossible not to feel the weight of these challenges,” Vohra said at the news conference on Thursday. “But under my leadership, the Department of Public Health will serve the people of Illinois as your resource and as your guide.”