RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below : A Chicago-area psychiatrist had his payments slashed after Blue Cross Blue Shield enacted a new "downcoding" system that doctors worry will make it more difficult for patients to get the care they need.
🗞️ Plus : Chicago police investigate a Border Patrol shooting, Illinois election officials say mail-in voting is still secure and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score : The Cubs fell to the Diamondbacks , 5-4; the White Sox beat the Rangers , 11-7; the Sky were defeated by the Sun , 87-81; the Fire lost to Monterrey , 2-1.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
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TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
The psychiatrist this Chicago patient sees had his reimbursement rates cut dramatically by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Victor Hilitski/For the Sun-Times
New Blue Cross Blue Shield policy lowers payment for therapists, pediatricians
Reporting by Elvia Malagón
'Downcoding' policy : As of July 1, Blue Cross Blue Shield changed the way it evaluates some medical claims that health professionals regularly submit, resulting in lower payments for the same service than in the past, according to mental health clinicians, doctors and advocates.
Providers' concerns : In recent weeks, Derek Phillips, director of psychiatry at Arcus Behavioral Health & Wellness in Chicago, had dozens of his claims reduced by Blue Cross Blue Shield, which means both he and the practice he works for earn less for the same amount of work. The small practice likely won't be able to tackle appealing each downcoded claim.
How patients are impacted : For some doctors, the financial cost of Blue Cross Blue Shield's decision to downgrade claims and lower reimbursement rates may be too much to bear. And it comes when finding a therapist is already a struggle for many people. One psychiatrist said he was considering dropping Blue Cross Blue Shield entirely, which could mean some patients will have to pay out-of-pocket.
IMMIGRATION ✶
Marimar Martinez was shot five times last year by Border Patrol agent Charles Exum.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Elite police unit investigating Border Patrol shooting of Chicago woman
Reporting by Jon Seidel , Sophie Sherry and Tom Schuba
Police investigation : The shooting of Marimar Martinez by a Border Patrol agent last fall is now being investigated by the Chicago Police Department's Investigative Response Team, a unit staffed with deeply experienced detectives who will look to bring a case to Cook County prosecutors.
Roadblocks remain : Any charging decision involving a felony would still fall to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke. And potential roadblocks remain if the federal government refuses to cooperate with the police investigation.
Bottom line : This is a notable step forward in the latest effort to hold federal agents accountable, nearly a year after the Trump administration’s aggressive Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign hit Chicago. No federal agent has been charged with an on-duty crime connected to Midway Blitz.
ELECTIONS 📫
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon shows U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi the Cook County Elections Processing Center in Cicero.
Manuel Martinez/WBEZ
Mail ballots are secure, Illinois election officials stress, after Supreme Court ruling
Reporting by Tina Sfondeles
Mail maligned : As courts continue to decide the fate of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in ballots, Cook County and Illinois election officials say they’re going full speed on their preparations for early voting and vote-by-mail ballots in the November election. The prep comes amid Trump's multipronged effort to sow doubt about mail ballots, leaving election officials to assure voters the process is secure.
Facility tour : Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon on Tuesday hosted U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, state Sen. Laura Murphy and voting rights leaders from ACLU Illinois, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters for a tour of Cook County’s ballot processing center in Cicero — a day after the U.S. Supreme Court paused a lower court ruling that had blocked parts of Trump’s March executive order.
Where things stand : Ten weeks before Election Day, we’ve got answers to some of voters’ outstanding questions around mail-in voting here .
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
NIPSCO wants price bump : Following a devastating derecho that ravaged Northwest Indiana and left hundreds of thousands without power for two weeks, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company filed documents that would raise electric bills for its customers.
Measles in Kane County : The county's health department confirmed an unvaccinated resident recently contracted measles, though is no longer infectious.
Hospital cleaning out? : Resilience Healthcare CEO Manoj Prasad, owner of West Suburban Medical Center, is now allegedly moving equipment out of the hospital. Prasad previously vowed that the hospital, closed five months ago, would reopen this summer.
Mayor plans to refinance : Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city will refinance up to $525 million in debt to dig itself out of a now $85.1 million budget hole he said was caused by a slew of so-far-fruitless revenue streams passed in City Council's spending plan.
Museum workers ratify contract : Workers at the Chicago History Museum have ratified their first union contract, after what the union representing the workers called "some of the worst anti-union retaliation we’ve seen."
Film fest lineup announced : The Chicago International Film Festival returns Oct. 14-25 with a Bob Odenkirk project, spotlight on Michelin-starred chef Curtis Duffy and films from Tim Blake Nelson and Martin McDonagh.
PICTURE CHICAGO 📸
A makeshift memorial appears by a...
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