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News Release

HHS APPROVES ILLINOIS PLAN TO EXPAND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
TO REACH AS MANY AS 300,000 UNINSURED RESIDENTS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the approval of Illinois' request to expand health insurance coverage to as many as 300,000 state residents without health insurance under the Administration's Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability (HIFA) Initiative.

Initially Illinois will use unspent State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) dollars to offer health insurance to low-income, uninsured parents of children in SCHIP or Medicaid. The first stage of the program will be offered to parents with incomes of up to 49 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal poverty level (FPL) is $18,100 for a family of four. State officials expect 29,000 parents to enroll in this initial stage. Over time, the state plans to raise eligibility to cover parents with incomes up to 185 percent of the FPL, which would reach as many as 300,000 Illinois residents.

"This approval will bring the security of health coverage to many Illinois residents who otherwise would be uninsured -- including parents whose children are already covered," Secretary Thompson said. "By giving states like Illinois greater flexibility in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs, we are creating new opportunities for low-income residents to obtain the health coverage that they need."

In addition to the expansion of full Medicaid benefits to uninsured parents, the state will receive federal subsidies to offer premium assistance to workers whose employer health plans are too expensive. The state will also receive assistance with individuals with chronic health problems in its Illinois Comprehensive Insurance Program for medically uninsurable people with incomes of up to 185 percent of FPL.

HIFA is a Medicaid and SCHIP waiver approach recently developed by the Bush Administration that gives states greater ability to design health insurance programs to meet the needs of their low-income populations.

"We are continuing to work with states to ensure that maintaining and expanding coverage for children is the top priority for SCHIP," said Tom Scully, administrator for HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). "We also want states to use the new waiver opportunity to expand health coverage to low-income adults who otherwise would not be eligible."

Secretary Thompson launched the new HIFA initiative last year to encourage states to expand access to health care coverage for low-income individuals through Medicaid and SCHIP demonstrations. The initiative gives states more flexibility to coordinate these companion programs and offers a simpler application for states that commit to reducing the number of people without health insurance. HIFA also encourages coordination between public and private coverage options for the uninsured.

As former governors, President Bush and Secretary Thompson have made it a priority to make it simpler and easier for governors to submit Medicaid and SCHIP waiver requests and to have those requests considered promptly. Since January 2001, HHS has approved waivers and plan amendments that have expanded eligibility to more than 2 million people and enhanced benefits for more than 6 million people.

Illinois is the fourth state to use the HIFA waiver initiative to expand access to health care coverage. Arizona, California and New Mexico also have been granted HIFA waivers.

More information about the HIFA initiative, including an online template that states can use to submit applications, is available at www.cms.gov/media/.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.

Last Revised: January 16, 2003