Prevention, Wellness, Responsibility. Idaho Medicaid is a medical insurance program that serves as a safety net for people who are low-income, have a disability, or are elderly. It is a vital health care program, but is now in danger. Across our nation, rapidly increasing Medicaid expenditures are straining state resources. Many states are eliminating services or cutting enrollments to sustain their programs. Idaho does not want to cut enrollments or valuable services to our most vulnerable citizens. Instead, Idaho leaders propose to redesign our state's Medicaid program, not only preserving health care services, but enhancing prevention and wellness for its participants. Idaho's plan is a bold, new approach that no other state has tried, but it is a common sense approach to a complex challenge. Through prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility by participants, Idaho leaders plan to preserve and improve health care for future generations. For more information or to view the Concept Paper, take the survey and/or provide your comments click here
Starting January 1, 2006, Medicare will offer prescription drug plans to help you pay for the prescriptions you need. You will need to join a Medicare prescription drug plan for Medicare to pay for your drugs. This program provides you with insurance coverage for prescription drugs. It pays for both brand name and generic drugs, and offers you a choice of plans. As with other types of insurance, your monthly premium and out of pocket costs may be different in different plans.
The Access to Health Insurance program is here to improve the health of Idahoans by decreasing the number of uninsured. It provides premium assistance for health insurance. The Access to Health Insurance Program is a premium assistance program that makes health insurance more affordable for employees of qualified small businesses. It provides premium assistance of up to $100 per month per person to qualified employees, their spouses, and their minor children, with a maximum premium assistance of $500/month/family. Access to Health Insurance is not a health insurance plan; it is a way to help pay for health insurance. Public meetings to explain the new program begin statewide March 15.
The purpose of this new program is to improve and maintain child and adult health status by developing a public/private partnership with citizen advisors, private health insurers, and small business. The program will promote the availability and choice of health insurance products to Idaho's children, adults and families whose annual gross income meets the current program eligibility requirements. For more information, click here
What is CHIP B? CHIP B is a state managed medical benefit plan for your children. You pay a $15 monthly premium for each child. For more information on the benefit plan check the website or call the number below.
What is the Access Card? The Department of Health and Welfare pays up to $100 per child each month or up to a maximum of $300 per family each month to help parents buy an employer sponsored or and individual health insurance plan. You pay any co-payments and the deductible.
How do you apply? Open enrollment for Access Card/CHIP-B programs is going on now. For more information or to request an application be mailed to you, call the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine (dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-926-2588) or email careline@idhw.state.id.us
Packets of information are available on a wide array of topics by calling the Idaho CareLine. A sampling of the type of packets include: adoption, early child development, adolescent suicide prevention, immunization, arthritis, CHIP. Packets are also customized for callers who express a specific need for written materials on topics of concern/interest.