Wes Venteicher

Speech language pathologist Cathy Tomasik works with 10-year-old Brandy Torres, who is partially deaf, at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield on Jan. 30, 2015. Brandy's managed-care plan does not cover her former audiologist.

Confusion mounts as Medicaid patients shift to managed care

August 18, 2019 at 11:43 p.m.

When Angelica Hernandez received a letter from the state telling her to pick a Medicaid managed-care plan for her daughter, the Naperville woman chose one that included the doctor's office...

Naperville insurance agent Robert Slayton talks to potential clients Jeanne and Ralph Wysocki on Jan. 8, 2015.

Illinois turning to insurance agents for Obamacare outreach

August 18, 2019 at 11:36 p.m.

Keith Kelly knew buying health insurance would be complicated. So the 55-year-old Naperville man skipped the federal enrollment website and asked for help from someone he knew: an insurance salesman....

Illinois Medicaid shifts 1.4 million to managed care

August 18, 2019 at 11:32 p.m.

Illinois has shifted about 1.4 million of its Medicaid recipients into managed care, falling just short of a Jan. 1 goal to move more than 1.5 million into the alternative...

The emergency entrance at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Infection rate penalties hit Chicago-area hospitals

June 18, 2018 at 7:46 a.m.

Nine Chicago hospitals ranked among the nation's worst on new measures of infection rates and other patient injuries, drawing federal penalties and raising questions about the way the hospitals are...

In downstate Illinois residents face higher increases and have fewer options, but in many cases stand to save the most money by switching plans.

Obamacare rate hikes in Cook County held in check by competition

June 18, 2018 at 8:40 a.m.

As health insurers compete for a second year on the federal marketplace in Illinois, Cook County residents are seeing relatively low rate increases and an array of options for 2015,...

University of Chicago targets vast cancer data, will ‘democratize’ research

August 18, 2019 at 11:21 p.m.

With a new system to compile and help navigate mountains of cancer data, University of Chicago health experts are aiming to bring the future of medicine a little closer. The...

Annette, 62, and Phill Kopczynski, 63, of Huntley, have different health plans. Annette has a $6,000 deductible on her policy and worries about the high costs. Phill is on Medicare due to a disability and is happy with his care.

Some newly insured still struggle to pay for health care

March 29, 2019 at 10:48 p.m.

For Martha Gruberman, a 63-year-old resident of south suburban Steger, obtaining health insurance through the Affordable Care Act hasn't made it any easier to pay for routine medical care. A...

With ‘Luck,’ Illinois hopes to lure young adults to buy insurance

December 23, 2018 at 7:20 p.m.

A new ad campaign from Illinois is making fun of a no-insurance mindset to try to get young adults to sign up for health insurance, using the tag line, "You'll...

Medicaid patients denied new hepatitis C cures

August 18, 2019 at 11:15 p.m.

Revolutionary new drugs are curing hepatitis C, halting a disease that can corrode the liver to the point of cirrhosis, cancer and death. But state restrictions on who can get...

Year 2 of Obamacare enrollment brings new hurdles

June 18, 2018 at 11:42 a.m.

The low-key start of the Affordable Care Act's second open enrollment period Saturday marked an improvement over last year's disastrous launch, but consumers and officials face a new set of...

All Stories