The Illinois All Kids Program was officially initiated by Governor Rod Blagojevich on July 1, 2006. The All Kids healthcare program made Illinois the first state in the USA to provide healthcare access to all children – regardless of family income or preexisting medical conditions. After just a year, the program has seen great success and helped thousands of children obtain medical coverage throughout the state of Illinois. Other state governors have recognized the value of All Kids, including California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who proposes to follow Blagojevich’s lead.
If you have children and are an Illinois resident, you also can qualify for affordable healthcare coverage through All Kids.
Qualifications
Many working families have found All Kids a life saver: over half of the uninsured children in Illinois have a family income too high to qualify for assistance through Medicaid – but did not make enough money to pay expensive insurance premiums. Many working families in the USA also fall into this category. To help all families, All Kids has no income limit. Any family with uninsured children – ages birth to 18 years – can qualify for All Kids. The family size and income level will determine the amount of co-pays or monthly premium amounts to be billed. These co-pays can begin at $10.00 or less per doctor visit. Other families may get All Kids for free. Even when families have higher incomes, All Kids monthly premiums are usually significantly lower than other insurance companies.
Even if you already have insurance through a private company or the workplace, your children may still qualify for All Kids. This will depend on income, family size, and what your other insurance covers. For example, if you are a single mother and your workplace insurance does not cover dental, you may qualify for All Kids. Health insurance covering just one medical condition or service does not count when All Kids’ considers your application.
Children who already have Medicaid or KidCare (state medical assistance) automatically qualify. Otherwise, your child must have been without insurance for 12 months, or meet the above guidelines. If your child has a preexisting medical condition, he or she will still qualify for All Kids.
What is covered?
All Kids is full health insurance coverage for children. All Kids will cover doctor visits, eye exams, eyeglasses, dental care and regular check-ups. Immunizations are also covered. All Kids covers hospital stays and it also covers other special needs like speech therapy, physical therapy, and medical equipment.
Doctors and Offices
With All Kids, you are free to choose your own doctor or medical office, as long as they accept All Kids. At this time, there are over 4,000 doctors in Illinois who participate with All Kids. If your current doctor already accepts All Kids, you will not have to change doctors. If you need to find a participating doctor, the All Kids website offers a search to find doctors, dentists, opticians, and so on. Agents on their toll free line can also assist you in finding doctors.
Once you choose a doctor for your children, All Kids does not make you stay with that doctor. You are able to change your doctor at any time for whatever reason you choose. If your current doctor is not accepting All Kids, you may also encourage your doctor to sign up with the All Kids program; the program does offer good incentives to doctors who sign up.
Applying
All Kids has made the application process quite easy. When I applied for my own infant daughter, it only took me a few quick clicks of the mouse and filling out an online form. In fact, the internet application is the easiest way to apply for All Kids. The website address for All Kids can be found in the resources links beside this article.
The All Kids website also offers a printable version of the application. You can simply download and print out the application, fill it out by hand, and mail it in to the All Kids address provided. If you call the All Kids toll-free number (also listed on the site) you can request that an application be mailed out to you.
Another option when applying are All Kids Application Agents. They can walk you through the application process and answer any questions you have. These agents are located all over Illinois and it is usually easy to find one in your area. The agents for All Kids include community organizations, faith-based organizations, day cares, licensed insurance agents, medical providers and your local government. You can usually find listings of these All Kids agents through your local government – such as your city Health Department – but you can also use an online search form to locate an Application Agent in your area. This search form can be found on the All Kids website.
Concerned about having to wait for coverage? If your child qualifies, All Kids will provide your child with temporary benefits as your application is being reviewed.
I encourage every parent in Illinois to make use of All Kids, the excellent and invaluable health coverage program for your children! If you do not live in Illinois, you may want to contact your local government about the possibility of initiating this program in your own state.
For more information, visit: www.allkidscovered.com/
