GetCareIllinois.org offers low-income individuals and families a roadmap to finding, obtaining, and using healthcare coverage in Illinois through Medicaid or the Health Insurance Marketplace.
March 22, 2019
Contact: Ishena Robinson
(P) 312-549-9879
ishenarobinson@povertylaw.org
CHICAGO— As Americans celebrate the ninth anniversary of passage of the Affordable Care Act, the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law announced today that GetCareIllinois.org, a website it established to help Illinoisans secure health care coverage, will now be accessible in Arabic, Chinese, and Polish. GetCareIllinois.org offers low-income individuals and families a roadmap to finding, obtaining, and using healthcare coverage in Illinois through Medicaid or the Health Insurance Marketplace. The website first launched in 2018 with information available in English and Spanish.
“The ultimate goal of GetCareIllinois.org is to best serve people in Illinois who can access healthcare under the provisions of the ACA but may not know how to navigate the process of getting it,” said Stephani Becker, Associate Director of Healthcare Justice at the Shriver Center. “Our research led us to identify the Arabic, Chinese, and Polish-speaking populations in Illinois as communities we needed to expand our outreach to so they can also access this critical information.”
GetCareIllinois.org currently receives more than 2,000 monthly visits. Most visitors come seeking information on how recipients of Medicaid and other public supports can use the state’s online Manage My Case tool to check the status of their benefits applications, renew their benefits, easily access notices, and file appeals.
“Get Care Illinois is an invaluable resource for individuals and families, serving as a centralized hub of information for getting covered and using health coverage,” said Inna Rubin, co-founder and chair of the Illinois Coalition for Health Access. “With the launch of Get Care Illinois, health coverage enrollment assisters across the state have been able to safely refer their clients to reliable and up to date information about Medicaid and health insurance. We’re thrilled that Get Care Illinois will now be available in additional languages making it accessible to more of the communities we serve.”
Since its passage in 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has enabled more than 20 million people across America to gain health coverage through reforms to the individual insurance market and the expansion of Medicaid to more low-income adults.
The Shriver Center is a leader in supporting the continued implementation of ACA in Illinois and provides training and technical assistance to certified enrollment specialists, community agencies, and navigators who help consumers in the state seek out and enroll in healthcare coverage in Illinois. We are also a founding member of the Protect Our Care Illinois coalition which fights against disastrous cuts to Medicaid and efforts to repeal the ACA.
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The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law provides national leadership in advancing laws and policies that secure justice to improve the lives and opportunities of people living in poverty. We specialize in practical solutions. We advocate for and serve clients directly, while also building the capacity of the nation’s legal aid providers to advance justice and opportunity for their clients. www.povertylaw.org
Healthcare is a human right. The high cost of care means millions of families have no access to the critical care all human beings deserve.
67 East Madison Street, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60603
phone: 312.263.3830
