Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is putting the brakes on a program that would subsidize healthcare for noncitizen immigrants after enrollments came in at a rate “more rapidly than people had anticipated when the program was put in place.”
Illinois introduced the program in March 2022, providing Medicaid-style healthcare coverage for noncitizens aged 42 and older, who would be eligible for Medicaid if they were citizens.
Covered services include doctor and hospital visits, lab tests, physical and occupational therapy, mental health, substance abuse disorder services, dental and vision services, and prescription drugs.
“We had $220 million in the program already, and we realized that if we could manage it properly, we could manage the program with the number of people that are in it now to about $550 million,” Pritzker said Friday.
The governor announced the suspension of the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program beginning July 1st. The Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors program will remain open, but will automatically pause if the number of enrollees exceeds 16,500.
Additionally, Pritzker announced a $250 copay for hospitalizations, $100 copay for emergency room visits, and a 10% coinsurance for outpatient services.
“If they don’t get healthcare, basic healthcare, they end up in an emergency room and we all end up paying for that at a much higher cost than if we have preventative care and regular care for people,” Pritzker said.
Source : My State
