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Approval of $241,000 in grant funding from the Illinois Department of Public Health - Ang
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The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has awarded the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center (LCHD/CHC) an Affordable Care Act In-Person Counselor grant in the amount of $241,000. This is the third year that LCHD/CHC has received funding through this grant opportunity. As in previous years, funding will be used to assist Lake County residents with applying for new health insurance options made available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This includes both Medicaid and Health Insurance Marketplace opportunities.
The grant activities will target remaining uninsured individuals in Lake County. Prior to the ACA, approximately 71,000 Lake County adults were estimated to be uninsured, of which approximately 50,000 were eligible for some form of coverage under the ACA. Preliminary data suggests that around 40,000 of these individuals have likely obtained some form of coverage in 2014 or 2015. State enrollment data shows that there have been 20,786 new ACA Adult-eligible individuals added to Medicaid as of August 31, 2015. Federal data shows that an additional 21,586 individuals in Lake County selected a health insurance plan through the marketplace although this figure would include some individuals who did not pay for their insurance (and therefore remain uninsured) as well as some individuals who switched insurance and did not truly transition from uninsured to insured. Given these variables, LCHD/CHC is projecting that there remain 30,000-35,000 uninsured individuals in Lake County. Of these, up to 60% are likely ineligible due to their residency status. The target population, then, for grant activities in year three is a projected 10,000-15,000 individuals in Lake County who are both uninsured and eligible for coverage.
As in previous years, LCHD/CHC will implement this grant in coordination with community p...
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