The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services boils its new Medicaid rule down to two numbers on a one-page flyer: 80 and $580. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, some adults in the state’s Medicaid program will need to show 80 hours of qualifying activity in a month, or monthly income of at least $580, unless they qualify for an exemption.
The same flyer adds a second change that reaches every adult in the group: coverage will be reviewed every six months. The state, which calls the group the ACA Adult Program, has been sending notices to members it says are affected.
The Rule Covers Adults 19 to 64 in the ACA Adult Group
According to the HFS customer flyer, the requirement applies to adults ages 19 to 64 who get coverage through the ACA Adult Program. The flyer lists who falls outside it on those terms: people on Medicare, people with a child 18 or younger living in the home, and people who are pregnant or postpartum.
The rule comes from federal law. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services describes the community engagement requirement as applying to adults in a state’s Medicaid expansion group, beginning Jan. 1, 2027 unless a state starts sooner. Illinois’s own materials give Jan. 1, 2027 as its start…