Provider Notice issued 05/08/12

New Information

Coverage for children in All Kids Premium Levels 3 – 8 will end at midnight on June 30, 2012

As a result of Public Act 96-1501, State law requires the All Kids program to have an income limit that is 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.

No new children have been enrolled in All Kids Premium Levels 3 through 8 since July 1, 2011. Children who were already enrolled in Premium Levels 3 – 8 on July 1, 2011 were able to remain in the program until June 30, 2012 as long as they met other requirements.

Recently, HFS sent a reminder to families with children enrolled in Premium Levels 3 – 8 to remind them that their children could lose coverage after June 30, 2012. The notice encouraged families to report any changes in their income, or family composition to their case worker to assess the possibility of remaining eligible for a different All Kids plan.

HFS provided the All Kids toll free number for questions. The notice also told customers that they could contact the Office of Consumer Health Insurance at the Illinois Department of Insurance for information about private health insurance at 1-877-527-9431 or visit the Illinois Department of Insurance Web site.

HFS automatically sends a cancelled case a letter of Creditable Coverage separately from the cancellation notice. If necessary, after cancellation, families may also request a letter of Creditable Coverage by calling 1-888-281-8497. Clients may use this letter to avoid a waiting period if they can get other health insurance for their children.

2012 Federal Poverty Levels

The 2012 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) is being used to determine eligibility for All Kids and FamilyCare. Please see the attached charts for the new income guidelines. Remember, the income charts are only guidelines for your use. Only staff in the All Kids Unit and the FCRC/DHS local offices can determine eligibility. Review the All Kids Income Standards & Cost Sharing Chart Web page for more information on income guidelines.

State Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Update

HFS and members of the General Assembly are discussing cuts that can be made to eliminate the department’s $2.7 billion budget deficit. One of the cuts under consideration is to reduce FamilyCare eligibility to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level or about $2,555 gross income per month for a family of four. HFS will send an update when the budget decisions are final. Information will also be available on the HFS Budget Web pages.

“text4baby’ Initiative

Healthcare and Family Services is pleased to support “text4baby”, which is a free mobile health service that provides health tips to pregnant women and new mothers. Women may sign up for the service by texting BABY to 511411(or BEBE for Spanish), and they will receive free SMS text messages each week, timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth.

If your organization is interested in learning more about ”text4baby” or would like to receive free materials to help promote this initiative, please e-mail text4baby.

Public Involvement

To increase awareness about opportunities for public involvement concerning healthcare programs in Illinois. Clients, partner agencies, and community organizations can sign up to receive notices about a wide range of programs on the HFS Public Involvement Web page.

Provider Participation Unit

AKAAs who wish to report changes regarding site mailing address, contact or telephone information, should submit a request in writing to HFS Provider Participation Unit (PPU).

This will ensure that important correspondence is received timely, the PPU address and telephone number is:

Healthcare and Family Services

Provider Participation Unit

Ameren Building

607 E. Adams

Springfield, IL 62701

Tel: (217) 782-0538

Fax :(217) 557-8800

Approval Rate

The approval rate for applications submitted by AKAA is 92%. Congratulations on your success in helping families enroll in All Kids and FamilyCare!

For additional assistance AKAAs should contact their All Kids liaisons.

AKAA Liaison for those located North of I-80

Phone: 1-312-793-5270 Fax: 1-312-793-5278

AKAA Liaison for those located South of I-I80

Phone: 1-217-524-7156 Fax: 1-127-557-4274