Legal Council Blawg
Views expressed in this blog belong to the respective author unless otherwise specified.
For inquiries about guest writer opportunities, contact Dani Hunter at dhunter@legalcouncil.org
Stop Junk Insurance in Illinois
Quality and affordable health insurance should be available to every Illinoisan and every American citizen, full stop. Unfortunately, this notion is being challenged by pending federal regulations that could result in a large expansion of the number of short term plans offered to hardworking Illinoisans. Short term plans differ from other health insurance plans; their long lists of what is not covered leaves many consumers with expensive medical bills. Plans sold in Illinois can exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, prescription drugs, hospital room and board on a weekend, and treatment for mental and health or substance abuse disorders.
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Medicaid Matters for Seniors and Older Adults
More than 6.9 million American seniors ages 65 and older have Medicaid coverage, and more than 8.5 million adults ages 50 to 64 are enrolled in Medicaid. Medicaid is a lifeline for seniors and older Americans.
About 1 in 3 seniors live below 200 percent of the federal poverty line while the cost of nursing home care for a typical year is around $82,000. Thanks to Medicaid, about 6 in 10 nursing home residents are covered, making nursing home care more accessible and affordable.
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Medicaid Matters in the Opioid Crisis
In 2016, more Americans died from drug overdose than in both the Vietnam War and Iraq War combined. Two-thirds of these overdoses involved opioids. Over two million Americans are dependent on opioids, and medical professionals worry that this public health crisis will only continue to grow. In Illinois, 14.1 percent of deaths in 2015 are drug-related. Despite these numbers, there are treatments to help people with an opioid use disorder—and those treatments work.
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Do No Harm to Illinois Health
As both Congress and the President continue to threaten the well-being of Illinoisans through cutting benefits, rolling back consumer protections, and restricting access to coverage, we must ensure protections at the state level to guarantee any attempt to restrict access to healthcare is open to public debate, oversight, and scrutiny.
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Medicaid Matters for Children and Families
April is Medicaid Awareness Month, and we’re publishing a series of blogs called Medicaid Matters. In this series, we explore how Medicaid expansions have provided quality, affordable health coverage to children, seniors, working families, and people with disabilities. This week is dedicated to children and families.
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What’s at the intersection of health care and social needs? Medical-legal partnerships.
A single mom has to choose between paying for her diabetes medication and paying to feed her two children. A toddler is exposed to lead while playing at home and now has trouble developing his learning and language skills. A young law student drops out of school after being diagnosed with cancer in order to…
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Press for Progress: International Women’s Day
This International Women’s Day, Legal Council is celebrating all of the historic gains to women’s coverage won through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion! With these expansive health policies, women now have greater access to maternity care, improved breast cancer care, and the guarantee that insurance companies cannot charge women more for coverage. Other…
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Beyond Shame & Stigma
Our sold out panel discussion “HIV Criminalization: Beyond Shame & Stigma,” co-sponsored with our friends at TPAN, was a great success this past Thursday, Feb 15. The expert panel included Maurice Chapman formerly of South Suburban HIV/AIDS Regional Clinics, Dr. Trevor Hoppe of SUNY-Albany and author of Punishing Disease, Vera Lamarr of Sex Workers Outreach Project, and Scott Schoettes…
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CPS Special Ed under investigation
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has begun a “Public Inquiry” into CPS’s handling of special education concerns in response to a coordinated effort by Legal Council for Health Justice and other educational advocacy organizations and groups representing parents, teachers and principals. As part of its investigation, ISBE will conduct public hearings where parents and…
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