Recent Expansions

All Kids Bridge:

On August 30, 2007, Gov. Blagojevich announced “All Kids Bridge.” All Kids Bridge is an administrative initiative that expands coverage to assist seriously ill or injured teens or those with pre-existing conditions transition from All Kids to the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Program (ICHIP). ICHIP offers health insurance to Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions who were rejected by private health insurers. ICHIP aids individuals with medical conditions that exclude them from obtaining private coverage and whose incomes are too high to qualify for public health care programs. All Kids Bridge expands ICHIP and subsidizes the premiums to provide continuous, affordable, comprehensive coverage for young adults with preexisting conditions who reach the age limit in All Kids and are at risk of being unable to get private coverage. All Kids Bridge prevents a lapse in healthcare and ensures that premiums stay affordable for young people who lose their All Kids coverage on their 19^th birthdays. All Kids Bridge participants are eligible for coverage until their 21^st birthday.
Click Here to Read a Press Release from the Governor's Office

Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP):

 Gov. Blagojevich also eliminated the income test for coverage under the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP).  Now all uninsured women are eligible for free mammograms, breast exams, pelvic exams and Pap tests and for treatment for any cancers diagnosed. Uninsured women over the age of 35 can receive free cervical cancer screenings, and women over the age of 40 can receive free mammograms and breast exams. www.cancerscreening.gov

FamilyCare Expansion:  

Gov. Blagojevich recently expanded FamilyCare. FamilyCare offers healthcare coverage to parents living with children who are 18 years old or younger and enrolled in All Kids. FamilyCare also covers relatives who are caring for children in place of their parents.  Governor Blagojevich raised the income eligibility to $82,600 (400%FPL) for a family of four to give more people medical coverage. Previously, the income cutoff was $38,202 (185%FPL) per year for that same family. A legislative panel that has oversight of administration rules voted to block Gov. Blagojevich's emergency rulemaking to expand FamilyCare. But a governor’s spokeswoman insisted the panel is not legally empowered to block the governor's actions. Gov. Blagojevich is moving ahead with this expansion of state-subsidized health care even though the legislative oversight panel told him "no" on November 13, 2007. The governor's administration has told state social service agencies that health coverage under the FamilyCare program is being expanded, an increase that could reach an estimated 147,000 people. Those state agencies already have begun signing up new participants despite the panel's rejection of the plan. In December 2007, taxpayer activists filed suit to block the FamilyCare expansion. The suit remains pending as of January 2008, and the expansion remains active. For more information, visit the Illinois Department of Human Services website.