IL Officials Launch Effort to Check Medicaid Eligibility

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Illinois officials are launching an effort to ensure the only people that receive Medicaid are those eligible. The eligibility checks include an annual verification of income levels and residency of the state’s 2.7 million Medicaid clients. Virginia-based Maximus Incorporated began the work Wednesday that aims to improve the system, eliminate a backlog and make recommendations to state caseworkers.

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos says annual verification can determine whether people's circumstances have changed making them ineligible. Republican legislative leaders say Gov. Pat Quinn's administration has taken too long to get the project under way.