Providing free education on the legal and practical issues to help you navigate health care.

Illinois State Resources

 

This page has information specific to this state, including contact information for federal and state agencies, and some key information about laws and consumer protections. Sometimes, state laws are more protective than federal law. For more information on this state's specific laws (e.g., on employment or health insurance), visit Triage Health's Charts of State Laws.

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Advocacy

Disability Insurance

Federal Disability Programs

Private Disability Insurance

  • You can also purchase short-term and/or long-term disability insurance directly from a private insurance company or this type of insurance may be offered by your employer as an employee benefit. See our Quick Guide to Long-Term Disability Insurance for more information.

Employment

Federal Fair Employment

  • The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. For more information about the EEOC, including how to file a complaint, visit the EEOC's website, call 800.669.4000, or email info@eeoc.gov.
  • The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, that provides free, expert, and confidential guidance on job accommodations and disability employment issues. They also have several resources on how to approach an employer to request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and a Searchable Online Accommodation Resource where individuals can find suggested accommodations based on job duties or limitations that they are experiencing. For more information, visit the JAN website, call 800.526.7234, or email jan@AskJAN.org.

State Fair Employment

  • To learn more about your state's fair employment laws, including information about discrimination in the workplace and how to file a complaint, visit the Illinois Department of Human Rights website, or call 312.814.6200.

State Unemployment

Vocational Rehabilitation

  • Your state's Vocational Rehabilitation agency provides vocational rehabilitation services that are designed to help job seekers with disabilities obtain competitive employment in integrated work settings. For more information on their services, eligibility requirements, and how to apply, visit the Illinois Department of Human Services website, or call 800.843.6154.

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Employment - Taking Time Off

Federal Leave Laws

State Family & Medical Leave (for self & for caregivers)

  • Some states have family and medical leave for individuals and caregivers. Illinois does not currently have a family & medical leave law.

State Paid Family Leave (for caregivers)

  • Some states have paid family leave that benefits caregivers. Illinois does not currently have a paid family leave law.

State Paid Sick Leave (for self)

  • Illinois does not currently have a paid sick leave law.
  • Some states have kinship laws that allow you to use your sick leave to care for a child. Illinois law requires employers that provide sick leave to allow the employee to use leave for certain family members.

State Paid General Leave (for any reason)

  • Some states provide general paid leave. Illinois' Paid Leave for All Workers Act will begin on January 1, 2024. Employees must be provided 40 hours of paid leave, to be used for any reason, per year. Employers can choose to provide the 40 hours at the beginning of the 12-month period, or they can require that employees earn paid leave. If employees are earning paid leave, they must accrue at least 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. Employers who already provide 40 hours of paid leave do not have to provide more under this law. Employers who are required to pay paid sick leave under the Chicago Paid Sick Leave or Cook County Earned Sick Leave, or any other local law, are not required to provide this leave. Read more on the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.

State Bone Marrow Donation Leave

  • Some states provide leave to donate bone marrow. Illinois does not currently have a law that applies to private employers.

County & Local Leave

  • Chicago’s Employee Sick Leave Act requires that all Chicago businesses provide sick leave to employees who work at least 80 hours for an employer within any 120-hour period. Employees begin accruing paid sick leave on the first calendar day they begin employment. For each 40 hours worked, an individual accrues an hour of paid sick leave. An individual can accrue up to 40 hours paid sick leave in a 12 month period. This leave can be used for a personal illness, injury or medical appointment of the employee or certain family members. For additional information see Illinois Department of Labor, Employee Sick Leave FAQs.
  • Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance requires private employers with one or more employees provide earned sick leave to employees. Employees who work at least 2 hours during any two week period can accrue paid sick leave. However, employees can only use paid sick leave if they have worked 80 hours in the past 120 days. Employees can accrue one hour per 40 hours worked. For more information, see Cook County Government, Earned Sick Leave Ordinance and Regulations.

Workplace Leave Policies or Employment Contracts

  • Everyone’s situation is different. Check your employee handbook, your workplace policies, and/or your employment contract (if you have one) to see whether you are eligible to take paid or unpaid time off from work.

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Estate Planning

Triage Health's free State-Specific Estate Planning Toolkit includes information about estate planning in general, and information about Illinois estate planning documents, and the specific forms you need.

Finances

For information on financial assistance resources, you can visit our Financial Assistance Resources module. You can then pick from the different categories of financial assistance, to find organizations that may provide financial help to you. Think creatively. For example, if you cannot find anything to help with your medical bills, you may qualify for utility assistance and shift the money you had dedicated to utilities to your medical bills.

Health

Marketplace

  • For information about options for buying health insurance from private insurance companies, as well as whether you are eligible for marketplace financial assistance, visit the Get Covered Illinois website, or call 866.311.1119.

COBRA

  • COBRA provides a way for workers and their families to temporarily maintain their employer-provided health insurance during situations such as job loss or a reduction in hours worked. If you have questions about COBRA, visit the Employee Benefits Security Administration website.

State COBRA

  • For information about your state's COBRA law related to maintaining employer-provided health insurance during situations such as job loss or a reduction in hours worked, as well as information about how your state's law works with federal COBRA, visit the Illinois Department of Insurance website or call 866.311.1119.

Children's Health Insurance

  • Visit this site to learn about All Kids (866.255.5437), which provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to be eligible for Medicaid.
  • Visit InsureKidsNow.gov to learn about free or low-cost health and dental insurance coverage options for kids and teens.

Other Insurance Options

  • To apply for an Independent Medical Review (an external appeal of a health plan denial) or to file a Consumer Complaint about your health plan, visit the Illinois Attorney General website or call 877.305.5145.
  • If your health insurance company has denied coverage for your care, you can appeal that decision. The process depends on the type of health insurance that you have.
  • If you have private health insurance (e.g., through an employer or the Marketplace), you can also file an external appeal with an entity outside of your insurance company, to see if the insurance company is required to cover your care. The external review process is either handled by the state’s insurance agency or the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Visit our Chart of State Laws on Health Insurance Coverage & Navigation to see who runs the external appeals process in your state.
  • Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease or ALS. For information about Medicare, to create a personal account where you can view your Medicare information, and to learn about plan options, visit Medicare.gov, or call 800.MEDICARE (800.633.4227)
  • Download a copy of Medicare's handbook, “Medicare & You.”
  • For help navigating Medicare, contact the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), 800.252.8966
  • For more information, visit Triage Health's Medicare Resources.
  • Medicaid provides free or low-cost health coverage to eligible individuals, including people with low-incomes, families, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Each state has its own rules for eligibility. Read Triage Health's Quick Guide to Medicaid to learn more.
  • Visit this site to learn more about Medicaid benefits in your state (800.843.6154).

Health Insurance Premium Payment Program (HIPP)

  • The HIPP program can help pay your group health insurance premium (e.g., COBRA) if you are eligible for Medicaid. For more information, visit the HIPP program website, or call 800.843.6154.

Early & Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, & Treatment (EPSDT)

  • The EPSDT benefit is a Medicaid benefit available to individuals under the age of 21.
  • States are required to provide comprehensive services needed to correct and ameliorate health conditions, including:
    • Early: Assess and identify problems early, starting at birth
    • Periodic: Check children’s health at periodic, age-appropriate intervals in comprehensive well-child visits, including health education
    • Screening: Provide physical, dental, mental, developmental, hearing, vision, and other screening or laboratory tests to detect potential problems
    • Diagnosis: Perform diagnostic tests and assessments to follow up when a risk is identified during screening and examinations
    • Treatment: Control, correct, or ameliorate any problems that are found
  • States are required to provide any additional health care services that are coverable under the federal Medicaid program and found to be medically necessary to treat, correct or reduce illnesses and conditions discovered regardless of whether the service is covered in a state's Medicaid plan. State Medicaid agencies are required to:
    • Inform all Medicaid-eligible individuals under age 21 that EPSDT services are available and of the need for age-appropriate immunizations;
    • Offer and provide, if requested and necessary, assistance with transportation to medical care.
    • Offer and provide, if requested and necessary, assistance with scheduling appointments for EPSDT visits and services.
  • Learn more about your state's program.

Coverage for Children

  • Visit this site to learn about All Kids (866.255.5437), which provides low-cost health coverage to children in families that earn too much money to be eligible for Medicaid.
  • Visit InsureKidsNow.gov to learn about free or low-cost health and dental insurance coverage options for kids and teens.

In-Home Support Services (IHSS)

More Medicaid Resources

  • For a list of Hill-Burton Federally Funded Health Centers that are obligated to provide free or reduced-cost health care, visit the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) website.
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are community-based health care providers that provide primary care services in underserved areas. To search for an FQHC in your state, use the Find a Health Center tool on the HRSA website.
  • To find a community clinic in your area: screenings and services in your area, visit the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics website.
  • The National Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (NBCCEDP) provides breast and cervical cancer screenings and diagnostic services to women who have low incomes and are uninsured or underinsured. For more information about screenings and services in your area, use the CDC search tool.
  • nefits to eligible low-income individuals diagnosed with breast and/or cervical cancer.
  • Health Benefit Coverage for Immigrant Seniors is a state funded program that provides Medicaid like coverage for immigrants 65 and older at 100% or less of the federal poverty level who do no otherwise qualify for Medicaid.
  • Health Benefit Coverage for Immigrant Adults is a state funded program that provides Medicaid like coverage for immigrant 42 to 64 years old at 138% or less of the federal poverty level who do no otherwise qualify for Medicaid.

Women's Health & Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA)

Privacy

State Clinical Trials Law

  • 215 ILCS §5/364.01

    • Who must cover the costs? Individual or group health insurance policies
    • What must be covered? Any routine patient care administered during a clinical trial if the policy covers the same care outside of a clinical trial. Additionally, no policy or plan may be canceled or not renewed due to an enrollee’s participation in a qualified clinical trial.
    • Requirements for Coverage: The clinical trial must be testing a treatment that has not been determined relative to established therapies and the participant’s primary care physician must be involved in the coordination of care. Finally, only Phase II, III, and IV clinical trials may qualify.
    • Qualifying Trials: The trial must either be approved by the U.S. F.D.A. or by one of the following: (1) National Institutes of Health (2) CDC, (3) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, (4) U.S. Dept. of Defense, (5) U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, or (6), or a cooperative group or center of any entity set forth herein.

Dental Services

  • SB3305:  The new law guarantees individuals with major jaw injuries including those caused by cancer, access to essential medical treatments without the fear of insurance denials.

(Last updated 9/2024)

More Health Insurance Resources

Housing

Legal Assistance

Transportation

  • Local transit systems may provide free or discounted rates for low-income individuals and families. Some cities also offer bus passes, vouchers for taxi or ride-sharing services, or shuttle services for patients traveling to cancer treatments.
  • Dial 211 for assistance.
  • For more information on financial assistance resources, visit our Financial Assistance Resources module.