COVID-19 Updates: Expanded Funding for Illinois Medicaid

As we mentioned previously on our blog, Congress passed legislation that includes provisions to increase support for state Medicaid programs in order to meet the growing demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act includes more money for Illinois to cover our Medicaid program.

The quid pro quo for this funding is that Illinois must not:

• Disenroll any individual who is enrolled in Medicaid as of March 18, 2020 or who newly enrolls during the public health emergency period for any reason unless the individual is no longer a resident of the state or requests voluntary termination.
  

This is great news in Illinois as we continue to battle an unconscionable backlog of close to 100,000 applications awaiting review–a number that grows when people are improperly terminated and re-apply for benefits.

Stay tuned to Legal Council’s blog for further updates on access to health care and services during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.