County pushes Medicaid program enrollment

The Illinois Department of Human Services has approved about 2,200 applications so far for CountyCare, the new Medicaid program launched by the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. The county is submitting up to 300 applications a day, double the amount in February, to reach its goal of enrolling 115,000 people by year’s end, said Ramanathan Raju, CEO of the county health system. CountyCare, which emphasizes outpatient treatment, is expected to generate about $100 million in annual net patient revenue.

Insurance benefits expand in Illinois

Because of the federal health care overhaul, 3 million Illinois residents with private insurance are receiving preventive health services, such as flu shots, pap smears and colonoscopies, without any additional out-of-pocket cost, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among states, Illinois ranked sixth, behind Pennsylvania, in the number of residents who received expanded care in 2011-12 due to the Affordable Care Act. Nationwide, 71 million people received expanded coverage.

Read the full article at Chicago Business.

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