June 2, 2010
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Here at IMCHC we are so excited that summer has finally arrived, with blue skies and nice weather, it reminds me of why we all live in and care about our beautiful state. And when it comes to health care, one of the best things that Illinois offers for children is our All Kids health insurance program.
The All Kids program covers uninsured children comprehensively regardless of family income, immigration status or health condition, ensuring the availability of health care coverage to all children in Illinois. Our newsletter today will highlight the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides federal funds for a portion of All Kids, some state-level changes to the program and a toolkit prepared by our partners at the Shriver Center.
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As state budget issues affect health insurance programs for children in our neighboring states, it is more important than ever to let legislators, state officials and the general public, know about the hundreds of thousands of kids who have been able to stay healthy because of their participation in All Kids.
I hope to continue this dialogue with you about Illinois’ All Kids program, as well as the implementation of larger federal health reform efforts at IMCHC’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon on June 15 at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Chicago. Our keynote speaker, Cristal Thomas, Regional Director for HHS, will speak about future opportunities for maternal and child health with national health care reform, which will be enlightening for us all.
Sincerely,
Executive Director
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IMCHC’s Annual Meeting
June 15, 2010
Maggiano’s Little Italy, Chicago
Register Today!
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IMCHC’s 2nd Annual Junior Board Summer Celebration
June 24, 2010
A private rooftop garden in the Loop.
Register Today! |
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The passage of federal health reform included provisions to protect some existing state health care programs, specifically the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a partial funder of All Kids. To summarize, the CHIP benefit package and cost-sharing rules will continue through 2019, with full federal funding through fiscal year 2015, two years beyond its current expiration date. Additionally, states are required to maintain existing CHIP (and Medicaid) eligibility levels until 2019 and risk losing ALL federal CHIP funding should they violate this rule. |
For a more extensive explanation of the Medicaid and CHIP provisions in national health care reform, please visit the Health Care Reform area on our website.
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IMCHC focused on two distinct areas of the All Kids Program this past session in Springfield. Both bills successfully passed both houses and are waiting to be signed by Governor Pat Quinn.
HB 5054: Requires that the IL Dept of Healthcare and Family Services replace monthly-issued medical cards with a permanent or semi-permanent version. |
HB 5927: Removes the three-month penalty period on All Kids for enrollees whose cases are cancelled as a result of non-payment of a premium , after they have paid back all past due premiums plus one month in advance.
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The All Kids Audit
Media coverage around a recent audit report of the All Kids program has stirred up some lawmakers to call for program eligibility to be scaled back.
However, the audit only focused on a limited number of enrollees and didn’t show the larger picture of the tens of thousands of children who were able to access health care and stay healthy, all while Illinois drew down millions of dollars in federal match. |
Do you have an All Kids success story to share? If so, we want to hear it! Email Kathy Chan or call her at 312-491-8161x24. With these threats to the program, it is critical for legislators and others to hear about the many benefits of this program.
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The All Kids Toolkit
IMCHC’s partners at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law have created an All Kids Enrollment Event Toolkit. The toolkit is a place for organizations planning outreach and enrollment events to find resources, support and learn from each other’s experiences.
For more information about the toolkit, please contact Carrie Gilbert at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. |
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Wondering what we’re doing on a national level? Sara Howard will be attending the National Premature Infant Health Coalition Meeting as a representative from Illinois in Washington, DC this week.
Excited to learn more about national health care reform from IMCHC? Working with HHS, we’ll be hosting a series of briefings in Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and Kankakee. For more information contact Sara Howard. |
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Want to learn more about immunizations from the experts? The Chicago Area Immunization Campaign is hosting Community Immunization Education Training Sessions on June 11th and 18th. For more information, visit their website.
Want to rub elbows with other maternal and child health advocates in Illinois? Attend IMCHC’s Annual Meeting on June 15th at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Chicago!
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Name:
Cristal Thomas
Occupation:
Regional Director, Region V, US Department of Health and Human Services
Educational Background:
MPP, University of Chicago
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Why do you feel maternal and infant health is such a pressing issue in Illinois, and America?
Maternal and infant health is a pressing issue because health disparities still exist in women’s health and that translates to birth outcomes and infant health as well. According to an article in the LA Times, between 1996 and 2006 the rate of deaths from childbirth rose from 7.6 per 100,000 to 13.3 per 100,000. The rate of infant mortality was 6.9 per 1,000 births in 2008 which ranks the US 30th in the world. And that doesn’t tell the whole story. The rates differ by population and geography and are significantly worse in minority and low-income populations. The social and economic costs of this in our country are significant.
Is there anything unique about Illinois’ state programs for children and families, compared to other states in Region V?
The program I’m most familiar with that makes Illinois stand out is the Primary Care Case Management program, which has a specific focus on at risk pregnancies and improving birth outcomes in the Medicaid program.
What do you feel is the role of advocacy groups, like IMCHC, in shaping health policy for women, children and families in Illinois?
Advocacy groups like IMCHC play an important role, particularly in the area of education. By being connected to the communities we serve you are in a position to know the problems people face, and educate community leaders and policy makers about those problems. Just as important, though, is that IMCHC is a resource for practical options and best practices for solving those problems.
In your opinion, what is the most important piece of national health care reform for maternal and infant health?
It’s hard to pick just one. I’d start with access because receiving timely prenatal care is so important for maternal and infant health. The Affordable Care Act will improve access for women by ending gender discrimination in health insurance coverage and requiring health plans to cover maternity benefits. It improves access by investing in Community Health Centers to make sure newly insured women have places to go to receive quality care. It also improves access through the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visitation program to make sure new mothers are connected to the community resources they need.
What is your favorite restaurant in Chicago (besides the location for IMCHC’s Annual Meeting, Maggiano’s)?
It changes; there are too many great restaurants in Chicago for me to stick to one favorite. Right now it’s the Green Zebra in West Town.
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- Good health as a child becomes good health as an adult: Better health in childhood has been linked in adulthood to higher outcomes, higher wealth, more weeks worked, and a higher growth rate in income.
- State health insurance supports jobs: State and federal Medicaid funding supports roughly 385,742 jobs in Illinois.
- Insured children get the care they need: Compared to insured children, uninsured children are more likely to have gone without needed medical, dental or other health care (22.1% versus 6.1%) and are less likely to have seen a physician during the previous year than children with health insurance (67.4% versus 83.8%).
- It is cheap to insure children: The cost of providing health insurance to each child through age 18 is approximately $7,451 in current dollars.
- We risk children’s lives if we don’t insure them: The absence of health insurance has been associated with increased childhood mortality.
These statistics taken from a report by Andrea Kovach at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. For more information about these and other statistics, contact Kathy Chan.
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For more information about our upcoming events or to find out how to RSVP visit our calendar on our website.
IPIHN – Illinois Premature Infant Health Network
ICSHC – Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers
CAIC – Chicago Area Immunization Campaign
CKF-IL – Covering Kids and Families Illinois
CSOB – The Campaign to Save Our Babies
JUNE
June 11
CAIC’s Community Immunization Education Training Session
June 15
IMCHC’s Annual Meeting at Maggiano’s in Chicago
June 18
CAIC’s Community Immunization Education Training Session
June 21
IPIHN Full Meeting at LaRabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago
June 23
IMCHC Lake County Chapter Meeting
June 24
IMCHC’s Junior Board June Fundraiser
JULY
July 7
IMCHC’s Health Care Reform Policy Briefing in Kankakee
July 12
IMCHC’s Junior Board Meeting
July 19
IMCHC’s Health Care Reform Policy Briefing in Peoria
July 19
IMCHC’s Health Care Reform Policy Briefing in Springfield
July 20
IMCHC’s Health Care Reform Policy Briefing in Rockford
July 28
IMCHC’s Southern Illinois Chapter Meeting
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