Medicaid
Illinois Kids Aren’t Getting the Health Care They Need
Since 2017, there has been an increase in the amount of uninsured kids in America. A new report shows a sharp national decline in children’s health insurance coverage through Medicaid and CHIP. Illinois experienced one of the largest decreases in enrollment. While children of families with low income aren’t enrolling in these programs, research shows…
Read MorePolicy Update: Creating healthy futures for Illinoisans
The fight for health justice continues in Illinois with many bills to protect and expand access to healthy futures in Illinois.
Read MoreWhat You Can Do To Help Medicaid in Illinois
In response to constant barriers, Protect Our Care Illinois (a statewide coalition of which Legal Council is a leading agency) is promoting a new piece of legislation to reform and improve the Medicaid eligibility and renewal process. The bill, SB2021 or the Medicaid Eligibility Determination and Renewal Reform Act, takes the best practices from other states who do not experience these problems and puts forward a comprehensive approach to reform.
Read MoreIllinoisans now have access to a life-saving cure to hepatitis C
After receiving a formal threat of litigation, officials at the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) negotiated with Legal Council lawyers to end the department’s policy of rationing coverage of life-saving drugs to cure hepatitis C (HCV) for Medicaid participants. This policy change comes after years of discussions and strategic advocacy to remove…
Read MoreBREAKING: Joint Statement on Medicaid Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions
AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Legal Council for Health Justice Statement on Medicaid Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions Legal Council for Health Justice and AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) laud the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announcement today ending the department’s policy of rationing coverage of life-saving drugs to cure hepatitis C (HCV)…
Read MoreAttorneys enforce Medicaid class action
Attorneys from Legal Council for Health Justice, the Shriver Center, and Sidley Austin L.L.P filed in court today on behalf of thousands of low-income people to enforce federal law and the State of Illinois’ agreement to process Medicaid applications in a timely fashion. The attorneys charge that the State is violating both federal law and an Illinois…
Read MoreMedicaid 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.
Read MoreI <3 Medicaid
Have you ever written a love poem? Was it an ode to Medicaid?
Here’s a thoughtful and elegiac social media post from one of our wonderful legal advocates, Marina Kurakin:
I <3 Medicaid. I want to hug it and squeeze it for keeping me alive as a kid…
Misunderstanding Medicaid
A letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune to correct a misstatement about Medicaid, from our former executive director, Ann Hilton Fisher.
I appreciated “Stakes High in State as Medicaid Retool Looms,” but want to correct a misleading impression left by Jonathan Ingram’s quote “people who gained coverage under Medicaid expansion have no disabilities keeping them away from the workforce or children to care for. It’s an issue of employment, not health insurance.”
Read MoreClient Focus: Janae and William
When Janae gave birth to William, things didn’t go exactly as planned. William was born premature and needed a hernia surgery, but for some reason, Janae could not get him a medical card to pay for the hospital bills. She was also having trouble getting other public benefits to supplement her income. Through the help…
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