HHS secretary urges Illinoisans to take action or risk losing Medicaid coverage

CHICAGO - This year alone, as many as 15 million Americans could potentially lose their Medicaid health care coverage.

One of the nation's top health care advocates made a stop in Chicago on Monday to remind Medicaid recipients that they may still be eligible.

A Covid-era policy that extended Medicaid coverage to millions of Americans who couldn't otherwise afford health insurance expired earlier this year leaving an estimated 700,000 Illinoisans at risk of losing their coverage.

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Sinai Chicago held a round table Monday to remind Medicaid recipients that they need to be their own advocates in ensuring their enrollment is up-to-date.

There are no guarantees of access to quality health care here in Chicago for those who don't reapply. If people have moved in recent months and haven’t notified Medicaid that their address has changed, they may need to check their previous address for the application.

Others may have a language barrier and need assistance filling out the form.

"I would ask, I'd plead that everyone here in Chicago please work with us to ensure that people who currently have Medicaid don't forget to reapply because for three years during the Covid pandemic, they didn't have to and some people sopped opening the mail because they didn't have to worry they didn't have to apply every year," said Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The government is reminding everyone that this is an ongoing process.

If you are worried that you might lose your Medicaid coverage, connect through your workplace or through the official Affordable Care Act Marketplace for Illinois.