DCFS director to step down at end of the year after agency hit with another scathing audit
Marc Smith is one of 3 state agency leaders to announce end-of-year departure plans.
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Ozempic hype forces employer calls on obesity coverage
Spending on a new class of diabetes and weight loss medications hit nearly $7 billion in the first half of the year, as people are clamoring for these highly effective drugs. Employer health insurance plans are shouldering the bulk of that financial burden as half of Americans get their coverage through work. “The cost of…
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Champaign County Community Coalition hosts first Black Mental Health conference to dispel stigmas
The Champaign County Community Coalition hosted the first Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Parkland College in Champaign on Sept. 30. The goal of the conference, according to the coalition’s website, is to provide awareness, information and solutions to people facing mental health issues and discuss the challenges of mental health in the Black community. Donna Tanner-Harold…
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Reports of sexual extortion affecting UI students are on the rise. Here’s where to find help
University of Illinois Police sent out a safety notice Sept. 22 reporting three incidents of sexual extortion scams. The incidents were reported over three consecutive days and each involved university students engaging with people they didn’t personally know on Instagram. In one case, a student shared intimate photos with a person who then threatened to post the…
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States to reinstate half a million people’s Medicaid coverage after system errors
Thirty states reported that they have mistakenly dropped tens of thousands of people, including children, from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHIP. In the Midwest and the surrounding region, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Nebraska reported that they have not been complying with federal rules to renew people’s coverage after pandemic-era…
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C-U Public Health hopes to ensure access to the COVID booster, regardless of insurance coverage
The new COVID-19 booster shot has rolled out at local pharmacies. The shots were approved earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration and are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for everyone six months and older. All prior COVID-19 shots have been paid for by the federal government. But the end of the federal…
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“This is not an isolated incident.” Decatur school closure exposes gaps in state-required inspections
Decatur Public Schools District 61 only found out it had problems in the two century-old buildings when they brought in a structural engineer in May to look at ceiling leaks and other issues raised by teachers.
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Girls are in a mental health crisis. What can schools do?
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Shekinah Jackson walked into her first day at Chicago Vocational High School on the city’s South Side convinced she’d spend the next…
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The region is in the thick of “a synthetic drug crisis”
More than 100,000 people died of an opioid overdose nationwide in 2022 and more than two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids are substances that are synthesized in a laboratory and act on the same targets in the brain as natural opioids to reduce pain. In contrast, natural opioids — including heroin, morphine,…
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‘Greener Pastures’ explores farming, climate change and mental health; a life-changing project for the filmmaker
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please know there is help available. Call or text 988.
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Copay requirements paused for noncitizens on state health plan
IDHFS says it’s not ready to implement cost-saving measure implemented by Pritzker administration.
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Medicaid Navigators and clients point to errors costing eligible people their insurance
A federal agency is alarmed by the magnitude of Medicaid coverage losses in states including Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. In recent letters sent separately to each state, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, raised concerns about the high rates of people losing Medicaid insurance. The letters pointed to people who were kicked off Medicaid,…
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State issues guidance on co-pays for undocumented residents as advocates criticize health care cuts
Advocates argued the rules changes were too costly for low-income patients. The governor’s office said co-pays should not have been charged yet anyway, though they are expected to resume eventually.
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COVID-19 on the rise at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
Students and staff can still access free, take-home, COVID tests on campus. Two weeks in, those tests are in high demand.
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Update: Emergency ends at U of I Engineering Sciences building after hazardous materials release
This is a developing story. It will be updated as new details emerge. 6:40 p.m. Update University of Illinois officials have sounded the “All-Clear” at the Engineering Sciences Building at Springfield and Goodwin on campus after a release of hazardous chemicals prompted an evacuation. Urbana Fire Battalion Chief Clint Weidert says firefighters were called to…
