Author Archives: Admin

Give the gift of health and security!

CCHCC is a one-stop-shop for health insurance and public benefits!

Mr. E has renal failure and is on dialysis, but had no income, no health insurance, and no way to afford food, and he was on the brink of losing his housing because of it. He was in a very desperate situation and any security he had in life was gone once he lost his ability to work due to his kidney failure. Mr. E was referred to CCHCC by his dialysis facility. Three different staff members stepped up to help Mr. E. with multiple public benefits. Each staff member who helped Mr. E specializes in a particular area of public benefits. Thanks to the efforts of Paulette, Adani, and Nicole, Mr. E was approved for disability income, as well as SNAP (food stamps), and Medicare and Medicare Savings. Mr. E’s life has stabilized now that he has income, health insurance, secure housing, and can afford food. Mr. E was grateful to CCHCC and was thrilled that CCHCC could provide a “one-stop-shop” for all of these benefits!

Over the years, CCHCC has grown in our ability and expertise to help community members from diverse backgrounds enroll in a wide variety of health insurance and public programs because we saw the need for these services in our community. CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that can help enroll community members in all forms of health insurance – whether that be Medicaid, Marketplace, or Medicare and Medicare-related programs. Beyond health insurance, CCHCC also helps with public benefits such as Medicare Extra Help, Medicare Savings, SNAP, Township General Assistance, and Disability benefits (SSI and SSDI). And, our services are free!

In the process of working with our clients, we often encounter other needs – some being very dire, such as impending evictions and the need for housing assistance and navigation. For example, Shea, a CCHCC Disability Specialist, met Mr. S at the STRIDES shelter when he was living in his car at the shelter parking lot, and needed help applying for disability. While Shea was working with him on his disability case, she helped him enter a hotel program for temporary housing. While he was at the hotel, she helped him apply for a housing voucher. Mr. S is now in his own apartment! He will not have to worry about being homeless this winter. Shea will continue working with him on the disability application process.

CCHCC is one of the only non-profit community-based organizations in the nation that provides help with Disability applications. Disability programs such as SSI and SSDI are incredibly difficult to apply for, and the rates of approval are dismal. But once someone qualifies for these benefits, they will have guaranteed monthly income to live on, and greater stability with housing and basic needs. In some cases, like the one below, an entire family can benefit. CCHCC is the only organization in Champaign County that provides this free service to the public at large.

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A client story, from CCHCC’s Babatunde Amao

December 5, 2024

On behalf of Champaign County Health Care Consumers, I want to share with you this incredible client story from one of our Disability Application Specialists, Babatunde Amao. Babatunde has been working at CCHCC for a year and a half, and he is very skilled and patient with his clients, and highly effective.
 
This story illustrates the life-changing nature of the free services that CCHCC provides to some of our most vulnerable community members.
 
Here is Babatunde’s story about his client:
 
When I started working at Champaign County Health Care Consumers, Michael Stone (a pseudonym for privacy) was one of the first clients I assisted with the daunting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) application process. Michael’s journey was anything but smooth. He faced not only numerous medical and mental health challenges but also significant barriers in trusting others, particularly those in positions of authority. This distrust often led to tense meetings where our conversations felt like interrogations (he was interrogating me).

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It is Open Enrollment Season for Medicare and Marketplace!

November 21, 2024

Medicare and Marketplace Open Enrollment Periods are going on right now!

Do you need help enrolling in health insurance, or checking the plans you are on? CCHCC is here to help!

Health insurance enrollment – We’ve got you covered! Health insurance enrollment work requires increasingly specialized knowledge and skills – whether for Medicare, or for the ACA Marketplace and Medicaid. Our federally-certified staff are the most experienced enrollment counselors in our community. This means that anyone – young or old or in between; employed or unemployed; retired; low-income, middle-income, high income, or no income; currently insured or uninsured – can contact CCHCC and we will help them figure out what coverage is available to them, and we will help them get covered!

Our services are provided for free to community members. With your support, CCHCC can provide free, vital direct services to keep our community covered.

Please read on to learn how to get an appointment with a CCHCC staff member, and to learn more about Medicare and Marketplace Open Enrollments.

CCHCC urges support for the City of Champaign Township Tax Levy

October 17, 2024

If you live in the city of Champaign, you have an opportunity to cast a vote to support funding for the STRIDES Homeless Shelter and homelessness-prevention efforts provided by the City of Champaign Township. The ballot initiative involves a slight property tax increase within the City of Champaign.
 
Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), along with the County’s Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless (CSPH), are urging Champaign residents to vote YES to this ballot initiative.

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Good News for Open Enrollment Season for Medicare and Marketplace! Insurance is more affordable.

September 2024

Medicare and Marketplace Open Enrollment Periods are right around the corner! And there is good news: changes have been made to make health insurance more affordable, and to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses. Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is here to help you with Open Enrollment!

CCHCC staff are the most experienced enrollment counselors in Champaign County for Medicare, ACA Marketplace, and Medicaid insurance plans. Our services are provided for free to community members. With your support, CCHCC can provide free, vital direct services to keep our community covered.

Health insurance enrollment – We’ve got you covered! Health insurance enrollment work requires increasingly specialized knowledge and skills – whether for Medicare, or for the ACA Marketplace and Medicaid. Our federally-certified staff are the most experienced enrollment counselors in our community. This means that anyone – young or old or in between; employed or unemployed; retired; low-income, middle-income, high income, or no income; currently insured or uninsured – can contact CCHCC and we will help them figure out what coverage is available to them, and we will help them get covered!

Medicare Open Enrollment – from October 15 through December 7. If you would like to change your Medicare Advantage plan or Part D prescription drug plan, you will have the opportunity to change for the 2025 plan year, starting October 15, until December 7, 2024. CCHCC staff can help you compare plans and complete those enrollments. Even if you already like your plan, it is important to review it carefully during Open Enrollment to make sure it will remain the same for the following year and will continue to cover your prescriptions and providers.

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