Ivan Handler

Ivan Handler is the Chief Information Officer of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, where he started in 2005. Ivan started with technology at age 14 when he was sent to learn Fortran II at IIT, and has been in the technology consulting field since the mid 1970's. He is ABD in Algebraic Topology from the University of Illinois at Chicago

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is responsible for providing healthcare coverage for adults and children who qualify for Medicaid, and for providing Child Support Enforcement services to help ensure that Illinois children receive financial support from both parents. The agency is organized into two major divisions, Medical Programs and Child Support Enforcement, and also administers the Office of Energy Assistance. In addition, all healthcare purchasing for the state of Illinois is consolidated in a new Office of Healthcare Purchasing within HFS, and the Office of Inspector General is maintained within the agency, but functions as a separate, independent entity reporting directly to the governor's office.

Over the last several years, HFS has significantly expanded healthcare coverage in Illinois. In total, more than 700,000 children, working parents, seniors, and other individuals have gained health benefits. This has resulted in the State of Illinois earning national recognition by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured for being first in the nation for increasing the number of working parents covered by its Family Care program and second in the nation for increasing the number of children covered by the Department’s health care programs. In 2005, the Department implemented All Kids, which provides accessible, affordable insurance to every child in Illinois.