Empowering Illinoisans: What’s "in it for them” in Health Care Reform

With the planned opening of the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace now less than a month away, more people across Illinois are starting to sit up and take notice. While there’s been plenty of discussion about health care reform leading up to this; too many people remain unaware of this new law and the benefits it may offer to them and their families.

The Affordable Care Act or as some simply say “Obamacare” – means that millions more Americans will now have greater access to affordable health insurance coverage Expanding access to care and improving health care quality are undoubtedly good things. But, let’s face it; health insurance can be confusing!

The first step is to help people understand what the new law has to offer in simple and understandable ways. And the second step is to encourage them to take action by enrolling in a health insurance plan that meets their needs.

Successfully accomplishing these two steps will take a concerted and coordinated effort among the State of Illinois and the many other groups who share the goal of successfully implementing the Affordable Care Act in Illinois. Many organizations, including the many involved in Illinois Health Matters, have been committed to outreach and education for several years. And the State of Illinois is now in the process of launching its widespread community outreach and education campaign.

We at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois also wanted to contribute to Illinois’ public education effort about the new health care reform law. That’s why we launched the Be Covered Illinois outreach and education campaign back in April. Be Covered Illinois is an unbranded grass roots campaign that works with and through a diverse coalition of partners. Today we have 42 community partners across the State and the list is growing daily. Be Covered Illinois community partners know their neighborhoods, the people, the issues important to them and are the most trusted and credible messengers able to communicate most effectively.

What Be Covered Illinois does is support its partners by providing easy to understand information about the Affordable Care Act through multiple distribution channels, including: 

• Personal outreach where trained Be Covered Illinois speakers can explain the changes under health reform to groups;
• Representatives at community parades and festivals passing out information that people can take home and look over. 
• Examples of currently available “consumer-friendly” Be Covered Illinois printed materials in both English and Spanish include fact sheets, brochures, key dates and a glossary of insurance terms that many folks may be unfamiliar with. And as we learn the questions that people have, we continue to produce new materials to answer them. 

To be clear, Be Covered Illinois materials are not Blue Cross branded product marketing, but rather an unbranded campaign to educate people about ACA and encourage them to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Be Covered Illinois information can also be accessed through a bi-lingual informational website (www.BeCoveredIllinois.Org), a mobile texting campaign (JoinIL to 33633) where folks can sign up to receive information and updates via their cell phones, or on Facebook and Twitter. Be Covered Illinois even has a toll free helpline number (1-888-809-2796) that people can call to speak with trained health reform experts to answer any and all questions.

In our shared commitment to partner with the State, Illinois Health Matters and the other Illinois education and outreach to broaden awareness during this time of historic health care reform, we invite you to review and access the Be Covered Illinois materials that we currently offer our community partners by visiting www.BeCoveredIllinois.Org. Or better yet, we invite you and your organization to sign up to become a Be Covered partner. As a partner, we will keep you abreast of the latest available materials, provide you with quantities of print copies of materials and work with you to plan an effective education campaign tailored to your organization’s needs to ensure your constituents take action before the end of open enrollment!

I also want to let you know that Be Covered Illinois will be hosting a community Care Fair with our partner organizations on Sunday, October 6th, so mark your calendars now. The event will be held at Chicago Indoor Sports, at 3900 S. Ashland Ave., from 11:00am to 5:00pm and offer fun family activities, a kids’ zone, free health screenings and flu shots, offer help in understanding the new health care law, as well as direct folks to Illinois Navigators and In-Person counselors who can assist them, some of which we expect to be in attendance. Attendees can even leave with a free bag of healthy groceries! Be sure to join us for a fun and informative Sunday afternoon and let your community members know about it.

Information is power, and we want to work with you to empower as many Illinoisans as we can!

Donna Gerber

Chair, Be Covered Illinois Campaign
Vice President, Community Investments
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Primary Care Doctors Need Connections to ACA Information and to Navigators, Counselors

As the effort to promote the Health Insurance Marketplace and enroll consumers gears up, and clinics and community organizations hire, train and deploy the various “assisters” who will help patients and families get coverage, we shouldn’t ignore one of the most important touchpoints between the health care system and consumers – patient/physician interaction. Patients trust their doctors and may look to them for guidance about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Unfortunately, many doctors haven’t been well educated about the ACA or what’s going to happen once the Marketplace is live.

The national American Academy of Pediatrics recently conducted a survey of its members and found that improvement is needed in pediatrician awareness of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The survey, conducted in late 2012, showed that nearly half of pediatricians are vaguely or not at all familiar with key components of the ACA. Specifically, they lacked knowledge of some components that could directly benefit their practices – such as the temporary increase in payment from Medicaid to Medicare levels, and coverage of Bright Futures services with no cost-sharing for children enrolled in new insurance plans.

Pediatricians also cited low confidence in their ability to respond to parents’ questions regarding the new law. Only 5% of pediatricians reported that they are very confident in their ability, while 33% reported that they are not at all confident, with the rest somewhat or moderately confident. Clinicians such as pediatricians are not yet being asked many questions by their patients and parents, so they have not been motivated to learn their own key points or prepare their office staff to provide information. In the AAP survey, 86% of pediatricians reported that they are seldom or never asked questions concerning the ACA. Most of their knowledge to date comes from what they see in the media, so they are very much aware of aspects such as the ban on pre-existing condition exclusions, the requirements to have health insurance by 2014 or pay a fine, and the provision allowing young adults to stay on parents’ health insurance up to age 26. But once the Marketplace is up and running, and public relations campaigns about enrollment are in full swing, and assisters are everywhere, what will they need to know so they can effectively advise their patients?

Locally, two major primary care provider associations did an assessment of members which confirmed an interest in more support and information. In May 2013, the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) and the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) conducted an informal survey asking pediatricians and family physicians to estimate need for Marketplace information among patients, patient’s parents and family members, and clinic staff. Responses were received from nearly 40 unique medical practice sites employing over 500 physicians. Only 3 responded that they would not be interested in any education or services related to the Marketplace. Nearly all (85%) want information on the Marketplace to post or handout to patients, and almost as many (75%) want a counselor or assister to speak to their practice staff.

While the number of medical practices that are independent, small business is dwindling, and most staff have insurance coverage via a hospital or health system, staff may still need information for friends and family members or to make new choices if products through the Marketplace are better for their families. Only about a quarter of physicians responding expected their health system to provide information on the Marketplace for patients and staff, and most (65%) said their health system was definitely not planning to employ navigators or counselors, which may be more available in the safety net clinics than in private systems. But the need for information – even in private practices – is there! Many physicians attested to seeing their patients lose insurance due to the economy, and pediatricians regularly note that while their patients are insured via All Kids or private insurance, many of their parents or primary caregivers are not. Children also age out of All Kids or their parents’ insurance and so many young adults will seek help in securing coverage.

For the ACA roll out to work, consumers need to get quality, consistent messages about the need to enroll and how to use the health care system, no matter where they are. Targeting efforts in low income communities and in clinics that currently serve the uninsured makes sense, but the ACA effects everyone, and all primary care offices should be able to connect a patient or family who needs coverage to someone who can help them.

Scott G. Allen, MS, Executive Director
Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics

Special Report: Impact of ACA on Uninsured Asians in Illinois

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will greatly improve the health of Americans by offering newly available coverage to the uninsured without pre-existing health condition exclusions, improving physical and mental health, and reducing the financial burden associated with healthcare. The Asian Health Coalition (AHC) and Health & Disability Advocates (HDA) jointly present this Special Issue Brief predicting that 75,000 currently uninsured Asians in Illinois will be eligible for coverage in 2014 through the Medicaid expansion signed into law last week (SB 26) and the health insurance marketplace (formerly known as the “Exchange”).

Working with datasets from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA), key findings show:

• Of the nearly 600,000 Asian Americans in Illinois, more than 80% live in just 4 counties comprising Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake.
• There is more than a 40% rate of limited English-proficiency in many Asian subgroups (Chinese, Korean, Laotian, Pakistani).
• More than 92,000 Asian Americans in Illinois are presently without health insurance.
• 75,000 individuals (or more than 80% of the uninsured Asians) are expected to be eligible for coverage in 2014 with one-third of those obtaining coverage through the Medicaid expansion and the remaining two-thirds through the new health insurance marketplace.

Insurance Coverage by Asian Subgroup

“Health insurance makes a big difference in access to necessary medical care, financial security, and ultimately health outcomes for vulnerable populations,” said Stephanie Altman, Programs & Policy Director at HDA. "The uninsured receive less preventive care and recommended screenings than those with health insurance, and therefore may forego needed care or prescriptions due to cost,” she added.

“Open enrollment is just 60 days away and outreach and enrollment efforts targeted to communities of color are more important than ever if we are to maximize enrollment into new health coverage options”, said Edwin Chandrasekar, AHC’s Executive Director. “The Illinois Department of Public Health has awarded $27 million to community-based organizations through the In-Person Counselor Grant Program and this is a positive step in the right direction to tailoring outreach and education strategies to meet the diverse racial and ethnic Asian American subgroup needs.”

For more information about this brief, please contact the Asian Health Coalition at (312) 372-7070 or info@asianhealth.org.


Edwin Chandrasekar
Asian Health Coalition