Fw: All Kids Has Changed

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All Kids Has ChangedFYI

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

All Kids Has Changed

The Arc of Illinois issues of the day from the desk of Tony

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The Arc of Illinois

The Arc of Illinois is a state chapter of The Arc

of the United States. The Arc of Illinois is committed to empowering persons

with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through

informed choices.

Leaders in The Arc:

You may have been hearing in the news today about

changes to All Kids Insurance. We have been sharing information with you about

those changes since February.

Here is the real story, fact sheet and details you

need to know if your child is enrolled in All Kids developed by our Family to

Family Health & Education Center.

See below.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

Attention Families Who Are Paying Monthly Premiums

for All Kids Insurance

Due to a new law passed in Illinois, some families

will no longer

be able to pay for their children to get All Kids

Insurance.

When will this change take place?

a.. On July 1, 2011

Who will be affected by the change?

a.. Families whose annual income is over 300% of

the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) will no longer be allowed to enroll their

uninsured children in All Kids.

b.. Families whose children are currently

enrolled and whose annual income is over 300% FPL will be able to continue the

children’s All Kids coverage until 6/30/12.

c.. These families will be notified by the

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) that they need to

try to find other insurance options for their children.

What is the income limit for 300% of the Federal

Poverty Level (FPL)?[1]

Remember that family size refers to the number of

parents and children in the family, but the All Kids insurance is only for the

children under age 19.

a.. Here is the 300% FPL annual income limit by

family size, updated for 2011: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml

b.. Family size of 2: $44,130

c.. Family size of 3: $55,590

d.. Family size of 4: $67,050

e.. Family size of 5: $78,510

f.. Family size of 6: $89,970

What should families do if they are concerned

about their children losing All Kids insurance under the new law?

a.. If you are currently thinking about applying

for All Kids, or waiting to complete your application, you should enroll right

away.

b.. You can find an All Kids enrollment agent in

your area by calling the All Kids Hotline at

1-866-ALL-KIDS (1-866-255-5437) TTY:

1-877-204-1012 or click here and enter your zip code:

www.allkids.com/akaa/search

a.. If your child has special health needs, a

chronic illness and/or a disability (referred to as a “pre-existing

conditionâ€), you can call these numbers for more information:

b.. Family Voices Illinois/Family to Family

Health Information & Education Center: 866-931-1110 or

familytofamily@... or www.familyvoicesillinois.org

c.. The Illinois Maternal and Child Health

Coalition: 312-491-8161or www.ilmaternal.org

d.. If your child’s doctor says that s/he will

need medical tests, treatments, surgery, dental care, eyeglasses, special

equipment, therapy, medicines or other procedures, be sure to get needed

prescriptions and schedule appointments as soon as possible.

My child participates in a Medicaid waiver. My

family income is over 300% FPL. Will the law affect my child’s eligibility for

the waiver?[2]

a.. At the present time, the waivers will

continue to “waive†(not count) parental income, as long as the child meets

the eligibility criterion based on their disability and/or medical needs. Your

child who is enrolled in one of the waivers will continue with their current

Medicaid coverage. It is possible that this may change in the future, however,

based on language contained in the new law.[3]

b.. If you have other children who are enrolled

in All Kids, in addition to the child who is enrolled in a waiver program, AND

your family income is over 300% FPL, those children will not be able to continue

on All Kids after 6/30/2012.

What else can I do to find health insurance for my

children?

a.. The federal government has a new website,

www.healthcare.gov. You can visit this site, select Illinois as your state,

enter information about your family and get a menu of possible options.

b.. Contact the Illinois Comprehensive Health

Insurance Plan (ICHIP), our state’s high risk pool, for enrollment

information: www.chip.state.il.us/default.htm or 866-851-2751.

c.. If your child has high medical expenses,

look into HFS’s Medical Spend-down Program:

www.hfs.illinois.gov/medicalbrochures/hfs591sp.html or call 217-782-6333.

d.. If you have difficulty finding health

insurance, please contact:

e.. IllinoisMaternal & Child Health Coalition

www.ilmaternal.org

312-491-8161

a.. Health & Disability Advocates

www.hdadvocates.org

312-223-9600

Where can I find more information about the new

law?

a.. www.ilmaternal.org/imchcanalysisSB5420.pdf

Family Voices of Illinois

The Arc of Illinois

Family to Family Health Information and Education

Center

www.familyvoicesillinois.org

familytofamily@...

708-560-6703 (voice) 866-931-1110 (toll free for

Illinois families)

Released 2/8/2011

--------------------------------------------------

[1]http://www.safetyweb.org/tools/fplcalc2009.asp

[2] For info on Illinois Medicaid waivers see

:www.hfs.illinois.gov/hcbswaivers

[3] Fore more information, please contact the

Illinois Life Span Project at www.illinoislifespan.org or 1-800-588-7002.

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