The Department of Healthcare and Family Services is approaching a December 15, 2014 deadline for Illinois residents to obtain healthcare coverage with the assistance of their website - Get Covered Illinois. We understand there may be questions from Early Intervention (EI) Families and EI Providers about this initiative so wanted to provide some basic resources to share if needed.
Click here to download a fact sheet with useful information: Get Covered Illinois Fact Sheet (PDF)
EI families may be looking for guidance/assistance on where to find information or even asking opinions on which plan to consider. EI staff, Child & Family Connections staff nor EI providers are Subject Matter Experts, but as a way to assist our families, we can provide this type of information. It is important to understand a family’s choice of healthcare coverage is truly their own but that this information may help them get the answers they need.
- To guide parents, they can either go to the website: https://getcoveredillinois.gov/
- Call the toll-free phone number 1-866-311-1119
- In addition, FREE in-person help is available near families. Specially-trained professionals, called “Navigators”, or certified agents and brokers, are ready to help find the right coverage for families. By going to: https://getcoveredillinois.gov/get-help/ parents can locate the Navigators within their area.
EI Providers may also have questions about who can serve a child under one of these types of plans and whether they must enroll in the health care plans in order to provide services for EI. The Bureau has worked very closely with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to ensure we are compliant with Affordable Care Act. Because EI is not a medical-based provision of service, EI services will continue to be established and provided under the current rules and regulations of 34 CFR Part 303. To provide services to EI children under EI policies and procedures, EI Providers are not required to enroll in any of the healthcare plans under Get Covered Illinois. If an EI Provider also serves populations other than EI, they should consider what works best for their business to ensure they are compliant for billing purposes for populations they may serve under the Affordable Care Act / Get Covered Illinois.
Additional information will be share as we move forward in establishing better relationships with HFS and the entities under Get Covered Illinois.
