The Illinois Department of Insurance recently launched the new Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (IPXP). The plan is designed for uninsured people with HIV and other preexisting conditions (including hepatitis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and others). Because the plan is federally subsidized, the premiums are much more affordable than other high-risk insurance plans. This is one of the first provisions of the federal health reform law that is helping people who are uninsured.
Interested individuals should act immediately, since only about 5,000 people will be able to enroll.
Persons who enroll in IPXP will pay
premiums based only on their age, where they live, and whether they use tobacco. In the Chicago area, for example, a non-smoker under age 35 will pay a premium of $149 per month; a 40-year-old non-smoker will pay $230; a 50-year-old, $338; and a 60-year-old, $526. The rates are lower outside Chicago. The plan will provide enrollees with comprehensive health care benefits, including primary care, specialty care, hospital care, and prescription drugs. It will have a $2,000 annual deductible and 80/20 percent cost-sharing for all services, including prescriptions. It is estimated that you will not spend more than $1,600 a year for prescriptions.
ADAP will be able to help pay the deductible and copayment for HIV medications, so peopel with HIV may be able to obtain HIV medications at no cost.
To learn about or enroll in IPXP, visit the Illinois Department of Insurance at
http://www.insurance.illinois.gov/ipxp/ or call 877-210-9167. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. A
brochure is also available.
