West Cook News

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will pause new enrollment in the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (ages 42 through 64) program beginning July 1, a press release from the state said. The goal is to preserve coverage for current enrollees while not exceeding funds the General Assembly has provided the program.

The pause in enrollment in the program won’t affect current enrollees, the release announcing the pause said. Enrollment in the Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors aged 65 and older will be open, unless the program reaches 16,500 enrollees.

“The enrollment changes are necessary to bring program costs within the budgeted amount for State Fiscal Year 2024, which begins July 1,” the release said. “Compared with the traditional Medicaid population, month-over-month enrollment has grown at a higher rate, and per-enrollee costs have tracked higher among the HBIA and HBIS-enrolled populations due to more prevalent, untreated chronic conditions and higher hospital costs.”

Several lawmakers have criticized funding health care insurance for undocumented immigrants.

It will cost a projected $1.1 billion to provide health care for the approximately 120,000 undocumented adults in the state, a release from state Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley) said. 

“The shortfall for funding this one program alone will make the budget unbalanced. That number is just the cost for adult undocumented healthcare,” Syverson said in the release. “In addition to providing adult healthcare to the undocumented population, Illinois is also covering the cost of children’s healthcare, housing, cash assistance, daycare, education, and other social service programs. All of these programs are growing at unsustainable levels and will lead to crowding out current human service programs and to future tax increases to cover the shortfalls.”

NewsChannel 20 reported that Pritzker has said that the state saves money when it invests in health care for undocumented immigrants.

“What happens if they don't get health care, basic health care, 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,” NewsChannel 20 reported Pritzker as saying.

The fiscal year 2024 general funds budget, includes “projected revenues of $50.611 billion and expenditures of $50.428 billion, resulting in a $183 million surplus,” a press release from the state said.

It includes over “$500 million in new state and federal funds to support the state's healthcare system,” and “$42.5 million for grants to counties and cities for their costs associated with asylum seekers,” the release said.

The budget called for $220 million for the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults, which, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, offers medical coverage to adults 42 through 64 regardless of immigration status.