Understanding the Payment Process

The Early Intervention (EI) Program pays EI providers from using various funding sources (i.e., State, federal Part C, Medicaid reimbursement and family fees) as they are deposited into the EI 502 revolving fund, are identified as available in the Department’s accounting system, and total a sufficient amount to pay the next EI provider voucher. Bureau of EI staff work daily to monitor funding sources and deposits. Although EI provider payments remain a priority, deposits are also used to pay other program costs, including the operation of the Child and Family Connections offices and the EI support systems, such as the Central Billing Office, Training Program, Monitoring Program, Clearinghouse, and Provider Connections.

Provider Connections website ( continues to be the “go to” place for up-to-date information about EI provider payments. As soon as funds are secured and a voucher payment processed, a notice is posted on the Provider Connections website. To be notified whenever there is a new posting, register for the RSS feed by clicking on the Icon on the bottom of the Provider Connections home page.

The following article is an updated version to an article that appeared in the spring 2009 Provider News. It provides useful information about the Early Intervention (EI) provider payment process.

Ever wonder what all the steps are in between submitting claims to the Early Intervention CentralBilling Office (CBO) and receiving a check from the Illinois Office of Comptroller (IOC)?

  1. After the CBO receives a claim (whether by electronic or paper submission), it is processed inthe CBO system.
  2. The CBO collects and sends processed claims to the Department of Human Services (DHS)accounting system electronically as a “weekly voucher.” The date of this collection isrecorded on the Provider Explanation of Benefits (Provider Claim Summary) along with an invoice number(s) for tracking purposes.
  3. The DHS accounting system processes the weekly voucher and runs Internal Revenue Service(IRS) edit checks. These steps ensure that providers are “certified” by the IOC to receivepayments from the State of Illinois.
  4. When EI staff verifies that the weekly voucher is loaded correctly into the DHS accountingsystem and sufficient funds are available to pay it, the voucher is sent to IOC for payment.
  5. The IOC issues payments to providers as paper checks or direct deposits.

EI Payment Tips

  • Review your Provider Claims Summaries to ensure that claims have been received andprocessed correctly. If problems are identified or you have submitted claims but have notreceived a Provider Claim Summary within a timely manner based on submission method(electronic or mail), you should follow-up with the EI-CBO Help Desk at (800) 634-8540according to EI billing guidelines. Please allow sufficient time to submit claims not received by the CBO to meet the required 90-day filing submission time frame.
  • Consider direct deposit by the IOC. The IOC can deposit EI payments directly into a checkingor savings account. Call the IOC at 217/557-0930 to enroll in direct deposit. You must have received at least one payment from EI in paper form prior to enrolling. Also, due to State Statute language, the IOC will not write a paper check for less than $5.00 so having direct deposit ensures all payments will be received.
  • Check the Provider Connections web site under“Important News” for provider payment updates.
  • Ensure you have good business steps in place to match your submissions with EOBs from insurance as well as CBO and then track through the payment cycle to make certain of timely submission and payment received.

If you want to confirm payments, you have two choices.

  1. Log onto the IOC website. When the IOCwebsite displays a paid date but you have not received the payment, giving ample time forthe receipt of paper checks, contact the. CBO Help Desk and request help inresearching the reason for non-receipt and potential replacement, if needed. We cannot start the process to replace a missing check for at least 30 days after the “paid date” of the payment.
  2. Log onto the DHS website to see similar payment information that the IOC website shows You may be able to see payments that show approval from DHS but aren’t showing yet on the IOC as paid, knowing that at least the payment is in process.

How to Check the IOC Website

1. Log into the IOC website at Choose Vendor Payments, enter your taxID, and click “OK.” After choosing “Payments,” you can either complete a specific searchor scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click “Find Warrants” to view the defaultfiscal year payments to date. The information includes:

•Issue Date – date IOC issued the payment to the provider

•Payment Amount – amount of that particular voucher that should match the amount of your Provider EOB

•Paid Date – acknowledged date by IOC that check was cashed. The “Paid Date” will be blank if direct deposit is utilized

2.If you click on the Warrant/EFT #, you will see a more detailed screen for this payment. The Invoice number on this screen matches the invoice number on the Provider ClaimsSummary. The Appropriation Name Area will identify the payment as an Early Intervention service.

How to Check the DHS Website

  • Log into the DHS website at In the “for Providers” tab or section, click “Payments.” On the Payments page, click“Provider Payment Inquiry.” On the Payment Lookup page, it defaults to current FY but you can adjust as needed. Enter your billing tax id and click Submit. You will see a page displayed showing a number of columns. You also have choices to export the data as well. The important information you can use to help track your payments:
  • Voucher Number – the alpha is issued based on fiscal year but the numbers following will match your Invoice number from your Provider EOB from the CBO.
  • Warrant Issue Date – the date the IOC site shows as paid but if the IOC has not issued anything yet AND DHS has submitted the voucher for payment, it may how an odd date like 99/99/99.
  • Dollar Amount – This amount should match your Provider EOB amount for that invoice.

Submitted by:

The Bureau of Early Intervention

Rev 110614