What is The Pink Card?

That’s what I wanted to know when one of my patients told me she recently got one from the State of Illinois. She told me that the Pink Card is the name of the card given to women who enroll in the Illinois Healthy Women Program (IHWP). It covers Paps, STD screening and…gasp!… BIRTH CONTROL! Even sterilization, aka “a tubal”, aka “snip-snip” is covered. Amazing. So I checked out the IHWP website (www.illinoishealthywomen.com) and it appears that to be eligible, as a single woman, your total monthly income needs to be $1733 or less. If you are part of a family of two the income ceiling is $2333 or less. You can call 1-800-226-0768 to check for other family sizes/income requirements. You also have to have a social security number and live in Illinois. Seems reasonable. For some reason it is only available to women ages 19-44 years-old. Guess this program is really aimed at providing family planning. However, the IHWP website says that they also cover mammograms, if the doctor who sees you for the gyne visit prescribes it for you. Sweet! So how can you enroll in this program and get your hands on a Pink Card? Call 1-800-226-0768 or print a mail in application at http://www.illinoishealthywomen.com/application.html.