Author Archives: Admin

Marketplace Open Enrollment Meeting – THIS Wednesday, October 29 at 7 p.m.

October 27, 2025

ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment is about to begin on November 1, and the partisan budget bill signed into law on July 4 of this year did not extend the enhanced premium tax credits that helped make Marketplace plans more affordable for millions of Americans. In fact, the partisan decision to not extend the enhanced premium tax credits will make it harder for Americans to afford their monthly health insurance premiums. Meanwhile, health insurance prices are expected to go up by an average of 30%.

These are indeed tough times. These are mean policy decisions that will only inflict pain on everyday Americans.

Collectively, we must do the best we can to meet the moment, and provide valuable information, and do everything we can to help people be able to maintain their health insurance coverage.

Please see below for more information:

ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment Community Meeting:
As we do every year, CCHCC will be holding a Community Meeting for ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, where community members can come and learn about the Marketplace and what options are available.

Please note that even though the partisan budget bill signed into law on July 4 did not extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Subsidies – that’s the financial assistance to make health insurance premiums more affordable based on your income – the regular Premium Tax Subsidies are still available, and folks might be able to find coverage that works for them.

We encourage community members to attend this meeting if they are eligible for Marketplace coverage!

WHAT: Marketplace Open Enrollment Community Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Champaign Public Library; 200 W. Green St., Champaign

AMENITIES: Free parking; accessible; and refreshments.

READ ON!

Marketplace Open Enrollment Meeting; SNAP; and Resources

October 23, 2025

These are very challenging times. ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment is about to begin, and the partisan budget bill signed into law on July 4 of this year did not extend the enhanced premium tax credits that helped to make Marketplace plans more affordable to millions of Americans. In addition, during the government shutdown, the Trump Administration has refused to release funds for the food stamp program known as SNAP, so millions of Americans are going to feel the hunger pains from not having their benefits.

These are indeed tough times. These are mean policy decisions that will only inflict pain of everyday Americans.

Collectively, we must do the best we can to meet the moment, and provide valuable information, and direct people in our community to vital resources.

Please see below for more information:

ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment Community Meeting:
As we do every year, CCHCC will be holding a Community Meeting for ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, where community members can come and learn about the Marketplace and what options are available.

Please note that even though the partisan budget bill signed into law on July 4 did not extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Subsidies – that’s the financial assistance to make health insurance premiums more affordable based on your income – the regular Premium Tax Subsidies are still available, and folks might be able to find coverage that works for them.

We encourage community members to attend this meeting if they are eligible for Marketplace coverage!

WHAT: Marketplace Open Enrollment Community Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Champaign Public Library; 200 W. Green St., Champaign

AMENITIES:  Free parking; accessible; and refreshments.

READ ON!

Medicare Open Enrollment Meeting – tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.!

October 14, 2025

Tomorrow morning – Wednesday, October 15 – CCHCC will be holding our annual Medicare Open Enrollment Community Meeting at 10 a.m. at the Champaign Public Library.

Please join us!

The meeting is open to anyone who has Medicare or who will soon be eligible to start receiving Medicare.

Our presenter is Nicole Mitchell, who is CCHCC’s Senior Services Specialist.

Nicole will provide information about the basics of Medicare, and Medicare Open Enrollment. And there will be a Q & A session.

Here are the basics about tomorrow’s meeting:

WHAT: Medicare Open Enrollment Community Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 10 a.m.

WHERE: Champaign Public Library / 200 W. Green Street in Champaign / Robeson Pavilion Room A & B

AMENITIES: Free parking / refreshments
Please note that Medicare Open Enrollment takes place from October 15 through December 7, 2025 for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for 2026.

Please help spread the word to publicize these events!

Sincerely,
Champaign County Health Care Consumers

Take Action TODAY to Lower Health Care Costs!

September 25, 2025

Today is a National Day of Action for lowering health care costs that are going to massively increase as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Please join activists from all around the country who are calling on members of Congress to urge them to take action to lower health care costs.

About those Marketplace Enhanced Premium Tax Credits:

Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (PTCs) lower monthly premiums for more than 20 million people through the ACA Marketplace. They mean parents can take their kids to the doctor without skipping rent, and families can afford prescriptions without falling into debt.

Earlier this year, Congress had the chance to make these savings permanent. Instead, they passed the largest health care cuts in U.S. history—putting millions at risk of higher premiums, lost coverage, and deeper debt.

The information below was provided by Families USA, which is a national consumer health advocacy organization:

Instead of addressing the high cost of health care, Republicans in Congress and President Trump passed a budget bill this summer that slashes funding for our health care, creates more barriers to coverage, and enacts policies that will directly increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for millions.
Yet Congress can still act to prevent costs from skyrocketing for millions of families by permanently extending the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits.

This is why we hope you will join Families USA, Community Catalyst, and other national, state, and local partners today for a Lower Health Care Costs National Day of Action. Take this opportunity to contact your member of Congress and urge them to make the enhanced premium tax credits permanent, reverse health care cuts, and lower health care costs. The ways you can take action are:

  1. Call your member of Congress and urge them to make enhanced premium tax credits in the Marketplace permanent, reverse health care cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – including the massive cuts to Medicaid, and do what they can to lower healthcare costs. You can call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to get connected to your U.S. Congressional Representative and your Senators.
  2. You can also check out this Social Media Tookit to help spread the word: Using this social media toolkit
  3. And you can write a letter to the editor: Writing a letter to the editor

Together, we can make sure Congress hears us loud and clear: Lower health care costs now.

READ ON!

Materials from CCHCC’s Community Meeting on the Budget Bill

September 16, 2025

On Thursday of last week (Thursday, September 11), CCHCC hosted a community meeting to help explain the provisions of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, which includes massive spending cuts to healthcare and food programs, among other programs that people rely on.

Thank you to everyone who attended this meeting, and who helped spread the word about the meeting!

As promised, CCHCC wanted to share the materials that we developed for this meeting, to help our community understand the devastating impacts of the budget bill on health and food programs. We are also sharing the video recording of the meeting. Please see below for the links to the materials and the video:

Our PowerPoint Presentation
https://www.healthcareconsumers.org/files/2025-09-11_OBBA_Presentation.pdf

Our handout on the impacts on health and food programs, nationally and in Illinois:
https://www.healthcareconsumers.org/files/2025-09-11_OBBA_Impacts.pdf

Our handout on the harms of work requirements and why work requirements do not work:
https://www.healthcareconsumers.org/files/2025-09-09_Medicaid_Work_Requirements.pdf

And, the video from the community meeting for those who want to watch and hear the presentations:
https://youtu.be/S-dxsT1l-CA?si=2Dz22COLmGLuK7jY

Please stay tuned to CCHCC’s email list in order to see more updates and information about the impacts of the budget bill on the programs that affect people’s lives.

If you are not yet on CCHCC’s email list, you can sign up here:
https://www.healthcareconsumers.org/join-the-cchcc-email-or-mailing-list/

READ ON!