In March, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a plan to transform health care in underserved communities, offering support to improve access and collaborations with the goal of greater equity. The State will invest $150 million using federal matching funds to fill health care gaps and focus on underlying health conditions in areas high on the CDC's social vulnerability index scale. These communities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are in areas served by critical access and safety-net hospitals, including rural parts of the state. The foundation for this