The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is responsible for providing health care coverage for adults and children who qualify for Medicaid, and for providing Child Support Enforcement services to help ensure that Illinois children receive financial support from both parents. The agency is organized into two major divisions, Medical Programs and Child Support Enforcement, and also administers the Office of Energy Assistance. In addition, all healthcare purchasing for the state of Illinois is consolidated in a new Office of Healthcare Purchasing within HFS, and the Office of Inspector General is maintained within the agency, but functions as a separate, independent entity reporting directly to the governor's office.

HFS was formerly the Illinois Department of Public Aid.

Division of Medical Programs

The Division of Medical Programs is responsible for administering the Medical Assistance Programs under the Illinois Public Aid Code and Titles XIX and XXI of the U. S. Social Security Act.

Medical Assistance Programs:

• Provide quality health care coverage to low-income families lacking health insurance, children who are wards of the state, low-income senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, elderly in nursing facilities and people struggling with catastrophic medical bills.
  
• Provide department-funded immunizations, vision and hearing screenings and other preventive services.
  
• Provide department-funded prenatal services.
  
• Provide department-funded placements for Illinois seniors receiving nursing services.
  
• Provide other department-funded medical services such as organ transplants.
  
• Operate the All Kids program, offer Illinois’ uninsured children comprehensive health care that includes doctor’s visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, vision care, dental care and medical devices like eyeglasses and asthma inhalers. Parents will pay monthly premiums for the coverage, but rates for middle-income families will be significantly lower than they are on the private market.
  
• Operate the FamilyCare program, offering healthcare coverage to Illinois parents living with their children, 18 years old or younger. FamilyCare also covers relatives who are caring for children in place of their parents. Like All Kids, FamilyCare covers doctor visits, dental care, specialty medical services, hospital care, emergency services, prescription drugs and more. Parents pay co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions, and parents in FamilyCare Premium pay a monthly premium, depending on the number of family members covered.
  
• Administer the Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities (HBWD) program, which allows people, between the ages of 16 and 64, with disabilities to return to work with full Medicaid health care benefits, if they qualify financially. HBWD not only encourages enrollees to work, but to increase the number of hours they work.
  
• Assist Illinois residents requiring chronic renal dialysis with the cost of outpatient and home dialysis through the State Renal program.
  
• Reimburse Illinois hospitals for emergency room services provided to sexual assault victims.
  
• Provide assistance to eligible Illinois residents who financially qualify for the Hemophilia program.
  
• Offer Home and Community-Based Services Waivers as an alternative to hospital and nursing facilities.
  
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into federal law in 1996. The main purpose of this law is to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs. HIPAA requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt standards for electronic transactions, including data elements, standard code sets, unique health identifiers, security safeguards and privacy standards.
  
• Operate the MEDI program, which allows authorized medical providers, their staff and related billing services to verify a client's eligibility for the department’s medical assistance programs. First-time users of this system must obtain a state of Illinois digital certificate (available through the MEDI Web site). Obtaining a digital certificate is a one-time process, which allows access to confidential information in a highly secure Internet environment. HFS verifies that the certificate holder is an enrolled provider, or that they are associated with an enrolled provider, after the certificate holder completes the MEDI registration page.
  
• Administer the Supportive Living program, an alternative to nursing home care for low-income older persons and persons with disabilities under Medicaid. The program combines apartment-style housing with personal care and other services. Residents are able to live independently and take part in decision-making. Personal choice, dignity, privacy and individuality are emphasized. HFS obtained a waiver to allow payment for the following services not routinely covered by Medicaid: Personal care, homemaking, laundry, medication supervision, social activities, recreation and 24-hour staff. Resident's Social Security benefits pay the cost of room and board.
  
• HFS and the Illinois State Board of Education have an interagency agreement which allows them to capture federal matching dollars for School-Based Health Services (SBHS). This covers both the direct services provided by Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and for the administrative costs associated with administering Title XIX and Title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) services.
  
  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act) and Article 14 of the Illinois School Code mandate a free, appropriate public education for all children ages 3 to 21 with disabilities.
  
  Illinois claims federal dollars for certain therapy services provided to children enrolled in special education programs, and for administrative activities.
  
  LEAs are required to provide, at no cost to parents, special education and related services as outlined in an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
  
  IDEA, as clarified by the Amendments of 1986, (P.L.99-457), includes provisions for other agencies to pay for services.
  
  The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA) allows LEAs to enroll as Medicaid providers and to claim reimbursement for certain health services provided to eligible special education students. LEAs may also perform activities that support administration of the programs. Federal matching funds (FFP) are available for expenditures in support of such activities.
  
  The federal requirement that states provide Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) services to eligible children is the foundation used to implement the administrative claiming.
  

HFS’s Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) enforces child support payment obligations for children.

DCSE enforces child support payment obligations for:

• Those that receive public assistance from the Illinois Departments of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) or Human Services (DHS);
  
  
• Those no longer on public assistance; and
  
  
• Those that have never received public assistance.

A person that is not receiving public assistance may apply for child support enforcement services by submitting a signed application to any child support office. There is no charge for this application.

When child support payments are received, whether the custodial parent is a client of the Division of Child Support Enforcement (IV-D case) or not, a centralized unit processes and disburses those payments. HFS established this centralized unit, the State Disbursement Unit (SDU) in October 1999. The SDU is the single collection and disbursement entity for income withholding payments from the non-custodial parent's employer.

DCSE provides the following services:

• Helps parents or guardians locate a non-custodial parent,
• Establishes paternity,
• Gets support payments and health insurance for their child(ren) and
• Reviews and modifies support orders.

Delinquent Parent Information

• The Division of Child Support Enforcement is authorized by state law to disclose information about "deadbeat" parents. The names and photos of those who owe $5,000 or more in past-due child support under an Illinois order may be published on the Deadbeat Parents Web site.

The Office of Inspector General

The Inspector General is appointed by, and reports to, the governor and is confirmed by the Senate. The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to prevent, detect and eliminate fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct and mismanagement in the programs administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The OIG also conducts investigations for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Office of Energy Assistance

HFS helps low income families meet their home energy needs. The Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP) helps families save energy while protecting their health and safety. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can intervene in a crisis to help families reestablish or avoid losing their energy service. Both programs help those most in need have a better quality of life.

IHWAP helps families lower their energy costs by providing a range of weatherization services, including insulating attics and walls and ensuring that heating systems are safe and in good working order.

LIHEAP provides a one-time benefit to eligible households to be used for energy bills. Assistance with reconnection is available to households that have made a good faith effort to maintain their energy service.

Homeowners and renters may apply for energy assistance at not-for-profit agencies that administer IHWAP and LIHEAP locally throughout the state.

HFS’s energy assistance programs are supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and by Illinois energy consumers through the Supplemental Low Income Energy Assistance Fund.

Office of Healthcare Purchasing

All healthcare purchasing for the state of Illinois is consolidated in the Office of Healthcare Purchasing (OHP) within HFS. As part of the consolidated role as the procurer of healthcare for state government, OHP is responsible for all non-Medicaid procurement of healthcare services. OHP is in the process of consolidating health services previously procured through the Departments of Central Management Services, Corrections, Human Services and Veterans Affairs.