Welcome to Health & Disability Advocates' website. Health & Disability Advocates (HDA) is a national organization, based in Chicago, Illinois, that uses multiple strategies to promote income security and improve healthcare access and services for children, people with disabilities and low-income, older adults.
HDA’s team of legal and policy experts provides a range of services including individual client services and legal representation, and customized trainings and technical assistance for a range of audiences, including consumers, service providers and state agencies. We also develop innovative projects and policies to protect and strengthen federal and state safety-net programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare and Medicaid.
For information on current projects underway at HDA, go to the Technical Assistance & Training, Innovative Program & Policy Work, or Client Services & Legal Representation, sections of this website.
What's New at HDA
Recent changes to FamilyCare by Illinois' Department of Healthcare and Family Services have decreased the program's income elgibility standards. Illinois residents with income at or above 133% of the federal poverty level will no longer be eligible to receive healthcare benefits through FamilyCare. These changes do not apply to individuals who were receiving FamilyCare prior to April 22, 2008. They will continue to be eligible for benefits. To learn more, click here to read HDA's fact sheet on the recent changes to FamilyCare.
Online Library
View these recent additions to the Library, or search our entire collection.Notice of Recent Changes to FamilyCare - July 2008
This document describes recent changes to Illinois' FamilyCare program which decrease the income eligibility standards for new enrollees.
(New) Ticket to Work Regulations At-A-Glance
This At-A-Glance brief summarizes changes to the Ticket to Work program made in the new regulations recently released by the Social Security Administration. The new regulations create a payment system based on the attainment of increasing levels of employment over time that is attractive enough to entice Employment Networks to participate. The regulations also modify the interaction of the VR cost reimbursement system with the Ticket system to encourage collaboration among state VR agencies and private ENs.
Misinformation Makes Finding Jobs Tough for Disabled - Daily Herald Story, March 31, 2008
This Daily Herald article describes Heather Barcal's search for employment after graduating with a master's degree in higher education administration. Barcal is blind and it took 3 years for her to find a job in education. To see full coverage of this story follow this link... Misinformation Complicates Job Search for Disabled
