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Although the Affordable Care Act is a federal law, Illinois state policymakers—including the Governor and the legislature—are responsible for implementing many of its provisions.

Illinois Health Matters will keep you up to date on the Health Care Reform Implementation Council (put into place by Governor Quinn) as well as legislation that will be enacted to implement the reforms, strategic plans and other important state-level policy developments.

For press materials or other information that may be of interest to the media community, click here.

 

YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

 

Q Q:  I work for a primary care physician’s office and we see a lot of Medicaid patients. I’ve heard that the Affordable Care Act requires an increase in Medicaid payments to primary care physicians to 100% Medicare rates. When will we see these increases take place? Can you provide any guidance for us?

A A: On March 4, 2013, the Illinois Department of Health & Family Services (HFS)  published this notice about the increase in fees for primary care physicians. It says, "For dates of service January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014, the department will apply an increased payment rate to enrolled practitioners for primary care services delivered by a primary care physician with a specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine, or pediatric medicine. The increased payments will apply to services reimbursed by Medicaid fee-for-service, Voluntary Managed Care Organizations and Integrated Care Program Health Plans."  In order to receive the increased payments, physicians must self attest that they meet certain criteria. Interested primary care providers should read the notice for more information.

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Do you have questions about issues like how health care reform impacts people with disabilities or children with pre-existing conditions? Learn from the experiences of others—or, submit your question here.

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Media & Policy Resources

CountyCare & the Ryan White Program: Working Together to Optimize Health Outcomes for People with HIV

This report outlines the importance of CountyCare and the role it can play in improving access to health services for people with HIV. It also contains a number of policy recommendations for the city and state departments of public health, Cook County, and the federal government.

Materials for the May 14th Event: ACA Briefing for Organizations and Agencies that Serve Immigrants & Refugees

This link provides access to the agenda, resources and these presentations:

The Affordable Care Act: What It Is and How it Will Affect the People You Serve

Stephanie Altman and Stephani Becker, Health & Disability Advocates

Overview of Navigators, In-Person Assistors, and Certified Application Counselors

Andrea Kovach, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

Connecting Consumers with Coverage – Opportunities and Lessons Learned

Kathy Chan, Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition

 

Visualizing Health Reform 2013 – Press Release

For the second consecutive year, Health & Disability Advocates has released its  Visualizing Health Care Reform tool (visualizingreform.illinoishealthmatters.org), a unique, interactive map that allows users to see a geographic and demographic breakdown of uninsured state residents who will be eligible for healthcare coverage when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully implemented beginning in 2014.


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