Collaborative Bridges has published The Bridging the Gaps Issue Paper, which examines the growing national threat to Medicaid-funded behavioral health services and highlights Illinois' innovative response through its Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives. The paper warns of serious consequences for safety-net systems across the country against the backdrop of proposed federal reductions exceeding $1 trillion over ten years. Patrick Dombrowski, Executive Director of Collaborative Bridges, stated that the organization's goal was to bring clarity and urgency to a moment that demands both, noting that communities across Illinois are facing unprecedented uncertainty.
The issue paper documents the stakes and highlights solutions already working on the ground, with Collaborative Bridges serving as a leading example of an integrated, equity-focused community care hub. Founded in 2021, the organization has built a model through partnerships with hospitals, health centers, behavioral health agencies, and justice-involved service providers that demonstrates both clinical effectiveness and financial sustainability. Key outcomes include a nine percent psychiatric readmission rate compared to 33 percent nationally and an estimated $3 million in annual Medicaid savings.
The paper shows that when hospitals, community providers, and neighborhood partners come together with shared purpose, access to care can be preserved despite funding challenges. Dombrowski emphasized that the model demonstrates how collaborative approaches can maintain essential services during periods of financial constraint. This approach is particularly significant as safety-net systems nationwide face potential reductions that could exceed $1 trillion over the coming decade, threatening access to critical behavioral health services for vulnerable populations.
Collaborative Bridges represents a partnership of historic West Side Chicago safety net hospitals and community mental health agencies designed to ensure that care needs of people experiencing mental health and substance abuse issues are supported in their communities, especially after hospital admissions. The organization focuses on improving health equity in West Side communities and reducing gaps in care among disjointed service systems by creating continuity of care between hospitals and communities to place resources closer to those who need them when they need them. The Bridging the Gaps Issue Paper is available in both summary and full versions, accessible for free at https://www.collaborativebridges.org.
The organization is also launching its new Voices campaign, an ongoing series of conversations with community leaders across Chicago's West Side that captures firsthand reflections on challenges facing safety-net communities during this period of uncertainty. This initiative complements the issue paper by providing ground-level perspectives on the implementation and impact of collaborative healthcare models. The combination of data-driven analysis and community voices creates a comprehensive picture of both the threats to Medicaid behavioral health services and the practical solutions being implemented in Illinois that could serve as a national model for preserving essential care during times of financial constraint.
