Department overview | |
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Jurisdiction | Illinois |
Department executive |
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Website | www |
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), formerly the Department of Public Aid, [1] is the code department [2] [3] of the Illinois state government that is responsible for providing healthcare coverage for adults and children who qualify for Medicaid, and for providing child support services to help ensure that Illinois children receive financial support from both parents.
The department is organized into two major divisions, Medical Programs and Child Support Services. The Office of Inspector General is maintained within the agency, but functions as a separate, independent entity reporting directly to the governor's office. [4] The Department maintains a mission statement [5] and a statement of vision. [6] Its current director (as of 2022) is Theresa Eagleson.
The Division of Medical Programs administers and, in conjunction with the federal government, funds medical services provided to about 25 percent of the state’s population.
Illinois’ medical assistance programs, consisting of Medicaid and numerous other medical programs associated with it, provide comprehensive health-care coverage to about 3.2 million Illinoisans. The programs cover children, parents or relatives caring for children, pregnant women, veterans, seniors, eligible individuals, and persons who are blind and persons with disabilities.
The medical assistance programs are administered under provisions of the Illinois Public Aid Code; Illinois Children’s Health Insurance Program Act; Covering All Kids Health Insurance Act; and Titles XIX and XXI of the federal Social Security Act. The department’s mission is to improve the health status of the individuals enrolled in its programs, while simultaneously containing costs and maintaining program integrity.
The Division of Child Support Services provides services to custodial and noncustodial parents by establishing paternity as well as establishing, enforcing and modifying child-support obligations to strengthen families emotionally and financially. Child support services are available to all families, regardless of income, and to either parent.
To qualify for federal child-support services funds, each state must have a centralized unit to receive and distribute child-support payments made through income withholding, even if a family has not enrolled in the full child-support services program. In fiscal year 2015, more than $1.4 billion was collected in support owed to Illinois children.
The Inspector General is appointed by and reports to the Governor and is confirmed by the Senate. The mission of the Office of the Inspector General is to prevent, detect and eliminate fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct and mismanagement in the programs administered by the Departments of Healthcare and Family Services and Human Services.
The current Inspector General is Peter B. Neumer.
In the United States, Medicaid is a government program that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by state governments, which also have wide latitude in determining eligibility and benefits, but the federal government sets baseline standards for state Medicaid programs and provides a significant portion of their funding.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and health insurance portability standards. In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities through its survey and certification process, clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and oversight of HealthCare.gov. CMS was previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) until 2001.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The program was passed into law as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the statutory authority for CHIP is under title XXI of the Social Security Act.
Maximus Inc. is an American government services company, with global operations in countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company contracts with government agencies to provide services to manage and administer government-sponsored programs. Maximus provides administration and other services for Medicaid, Medicare, health care reform, welfare-to-work, and student loan servicing among other government programs. The company is based in Tysons, Virginia, has 39,600 employees and a reported annual revenue of $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2023.
Dr. Dynasaur is a publicly funded healthcare program in the U.S. state of Vermont, created in 1989. Vermont had an estimated 140,000 people under age 18 (90,000 under 300% above the Federal Poverty Level. Dr. Dynasaur covered 56,000 of these uninsured. After adding the coverage of this program to those already covered by private health insurance, Vermont had achieved a virtually universal health insurance for children. As a result, the state was regarded as having the best healthcare program in the United States.
The California Medical Assistance Program is the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults with incomes below 138% of federal poverty level. Benefits include ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, dental (Denti-Cal), vision, and long-term care and support. Medi-Cal was created in 1965 by the California Medical Assistance Program a few months after the national legislation was passed. Approximately 15.28 million people were enrolled in Medi-Cal as of September 2022, or about 40% of California's population; in most counties, more than half of eligible residents were enrolled as of 2020.
Julie Hamos is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 18th District from 1999 to 2010. Her district included Rogers Park in Chicago and the suburbs of Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka and Glencoe.
Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) are the percentage rates used to determine the matching funds rate allocated annually to certain medical and social service programs in the United States of America. FMAP eligible programs are joint federal-state partnerships between the federal government of the United States and state governments, which are administered by the states. Thus, FMAP is an example of administration of federal assistance in the United States. The percentages given are the share of the total cost that the federal government will pay, the rest being covered by the state. For example, 100% FMAP for some eligible service means that the federal government pays the entire cost and 50% FMAP would mean that the cost is split evenly between the state and federal government.
The Oregon Health Plan is Oregon's state Medicaid program. It is overseen by the Oregon Health Authority.
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) is the child health component of Medicaid. Federal statutes and regulations state that children under age 21 who are enrolled in Medicaid are entitled to EPSDT benefits and that States must cover a broad array of preventive and treatment services. Unlike private insurance, EPSDT is designed to address problems early, ameliorate conditions, and intervene as early as possible. For the 25 million children enrolled in Medicaid and entitled to EPSDT in 2012, the program is a vital source of coverage and a means to improve the health and well-being of beneficiaries.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency. It enforces some of the laws in the California Health and Safety Codes, notably the licensing of some types of healthcare facilities. One of its functions is to oversee vital records operations throughout the state.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for supervising the state's public assistance, workforce development, unemployment compensation, child and adult protective services, adoption, child care, and child support programs. Prior to July 2013, ODJFS was also the state agency responsible for the administration of Ohio's Medicaid program. In July 2013, a new state agency was created, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), Ohio’s first Executive-level Medicaid agency. ODJFS employs about 2,300 full time employees and has an annual budget of $3.3 billion.
The United States spends approximately $2.3 trillion on federal and state social programs including cash assistance, health insurance, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, and education and childcare assistance. Similar benefits are sometimes provided by the private sector either through policy mandates or on a voluntary basis. Employer-sponsored health insurance is an example of this.
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OKHCA) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for providing health insurance benefits for the state's SoonerCare members. The authority is the state-level counterpart to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) is a state agency of Missouri. It has its headquarters in the Broadway State Office Building in Jefferson City. The department operates the state's social services.
Children with Special Healthcare Needs (CSHCN) are defined by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau as:
Welfare in California consists of federal welfare programs—which are often at least partially administered by state and county agencies—and several independent programs, which are usually administered by counties.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WisDHS) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for maintaining public health. It administers a wide range of services in the state and at state institutions, regulates hospitals and care providers, and supervises and consults with local public health agencies. Its responsibilities include public health; mental health and substance abuse; long-term support and care; services to people with disabilities, medical assistance, and children’s services; aging programs; physical and developmental disability services; blindness disability programs; operation of care and treatment facilities; quality assurance programs; nutrition supplementation programs; medical assistance; and health care for low-income families, elderly, and the disabled.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for providing services to assist children and families and to oversee county offices handling those services. This includes child protective services, adoption and foster care services, and juvenile justice services. It also manages the licensing and regulation of facilities involved in the foster care and day care systems, performs background investigations of child care providers, and investigates incidents of potential child abuse or neglect. It administers the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program, the child care subsidy program, child support enforcement and paternity establishment services, and programs related to the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) income support program.