As Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), Barry S. Maram oversees the State’s Medicaid, child support enforcement, and energy assistance programs as well as consolidated health care procurement. Governor Rod R. Blagojevich appointed Maram as Director of the Department of Public Aid in February 2003. The Agency was renamed Healthcare and Family Services in July 2005.

Maram is a health care lawyer of over 30 years and a veteran of Illinois government. Prior to HFS, Maram served as Associate Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health under former Governor James Thompson, where he directed the Office of Health Finance and coordinated state health care issues affecting hospitals, nursing homes and other health institutions. From 1986 to 1989 Maram served as Executive Director of the Illinois Health Facilities Authority, which is the State’s central financing agency on behalf of health care institutions. Prior to his appointment as Director of Public Aid, he was with the law firm of Foley & Lardner, LLP.

Under Director Maram’s leadership, HFS has significantly expanded healthcare coverage in Illinois.  In total, more than 600,000 children, working parents, seniors, and other individuals have gained health benefits during Director Maram’s tenure.  This has resulted in the State of Illinois earning national recognition by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured for being first in the nation for increasing the number of working parents covered by its FamilyCare program and second in the nation for increasing the number of children covered by the Department’s health care programs.  Most recently, under the leadership of Governor Blagojevich, the Department has initiated All Kids, which provides accessible, affordable insurance to every child in Illinois. 

Director Maram also worked to bring $490 million in special federal funds to Illinois through the hospital assessment program in 2005, and in 2007 he improved on this success by bringing in an additional $1.8 billion.  In addition, under Director Maram’s leadership, collections in the Division of Child Support Enforcement in FY 07 have surpassed the $1 billion mark for the third straight year, representing a 66% increase from FY 01.  Based on these accomplishments, the Division of Child Support Enforcement has recently been nationally recognized as the most improved in the nation.

Maram holds a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his law degree in 1971 from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law where he serves as adjunct professor and is on the Board of Trustees. In 1985 he earned an M.A., with honors, from the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.  In July 2005, he received the National Governor’s award as one of the three outstanding public officials in the nation.