Building on Governor Pritzker’s renewal of the Hospital Assessment Program earlier this year, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) unveiled a new equity-centric healthcare plan that addresses the social and structural determinants of health. The department partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health to conduct extensive statewide community listening and in-depth research to create the plan which presents a major shift in providing healthcare delivery. In developing the plan, HFS researchers worked with community organizations to reach some of Illinois’ most distressed communities. Community members shared stories of historic, cultural, economic, and logistical barriers to healthcare that exposed a serious disconnect between the care people needed and the care they received. If implemented, the new HFS plan will fund pilot projects and planning grants to address both healthcare and social determinants of health, emphasize collaboration with community-based organizations plus one unrelated healthcare provider, and ensure that health equity is a measurable, primary focus of each project.