By skyforbes I want to check my work and be sure that after reading on official government sites, this forum, and elsewhere that I am correct about what to expect in my situation (as a single person living alone with one income) and the process of acquiring Medicaid in the state of Illinois.
My scenario and what I expect:
- I will quit my job voluntarily on Friday, December 12, 2025.
- I will have $0 household income as of Saturday, December 13, 2025.
- I will apply to receive Medicaid through the ABE (Illinois) website [Illinois.gov – IL Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) ABE Home Page] on Monday, December 15, 2025.
- I will wait for confirmation of receiving benefits or denial of benefits, which could take several weeks.
- If confirmed to receive benefits, I will be able to use Medicaid services to receive healthcare.
- If I am denied Medicaid services, I must reapply or discontinue seeking Medicaid services.
- *If I seek medical services (ex: go to the doctor) between applying for Medicaid and receiving confirmation of being a Medicaid recipient, I can submit the claims for the medical services rendered to Medicaid and, if applicable, they will be processed and covered by Medicaid; this is good for up to 3 months backdated from the date applied. *This is only if I am approved to receive Medicaid services; if I am denied, this does not apply and I am solely responsible for any medical bills incurred.
- **When I acquire employment that puts my monthly income over the limit for a single person to receive Medicare benefits in the state of Illinois (~$1800/month): I will inform Medicaid services of this change immediately upon acquiring income. **But does this happen upon accepting employment with the expectation of wage acquisition? Or do I do this when I have received my first paycheck that exceeds the monthly allotment (~$1800)?
- Upon reporting that my wages exceed the limit for allotment, I would expect the state of Illinois to terminate my eligibility to receive Medicaid, and presumably take up another form of health insurance benefits, be they ACA Marketplace based benefits or employer based benefits, depending on what is offered. (And if I am eligible for ACA based benefits, this will count as an episode of special enrollment, allowing that process at any time of year).
I think that is all I foresee and want to be sure I'm sure about.
Any input, troubleshooting, correction, or confirmation is welcome.
Any information specifically about IL is welcome (it seems to me that the ABE website is down/broken a lot, which makes me very nervous).
And thank you for any time/effort given to assisting me.