News Release

HHS partners with Illinois on health insurance marketplace

Affordable health coverage to be available to Illinoisans in 2014

During a visit with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to the Erie Health Center in Chicago today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Illinois has been conditionally approved to operate a State Partnership Marketplace (Exchange), which will be ready for open enrollment in October 2013. This partnership will allow Illinois to make key decisions and tailor the marketplace to local needs and market conditions.

“I applaud efforts by Illinois to build a new health insurance marketplace,” Secretary Sebelius said.  “Working together, we will be ready in eight months when residents of Illinois will be able to use the new marketplace to easily purchase quality, affordable health insurance plans.”

“Here in the home state of President Barack Obama, we are forging ahead to make the promise of the Affordable Care Act a reality,” Governor Quinn said. “Access to decent health care is a fundamental right. Hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois will gain quality health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. They will also gain the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the care will be there if they need it. We are going to be working very hard between now and October 1^st to educate the people of our state about the health care coverage options they will have through the Marketplace, thanks to President Obama's leadership.”

With today’s conditional approval of Illinois, twenty states and the District of Columbia have been conditionally approved to partially or fully run a marketplace – with the remaining states having until Feb. 15, 2013, to apply for a State Partnership Marketplace.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, consumers and small businesses will, beginning next January, have access to a new marketplace, where they can access quality, affordable private health plans.  These comprehensive health plans will ensure consumers have the same kinds of insurance choices as members of Congress, and will not be able to be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

Consumers in every state will be able to buy insurance from qualified health plans directly through these marketplaces and may be eligible for tax credits and cost sharing assistance to help pay for their health insurance and out of pocket costs.

For more information on the new health insurance marketplace, visit:
www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/

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Last revised: February 13, 2013