(305 ILCS 60/5)

Sec. 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds as follows:

(1) Each year, approximately 1,500 Illinois children are diagnosed with a serious illness.

(2) There are many barriers to the provision of pediatric palliative services, the most significant of which include the following: (i) challenges in predicting life expectancy; (ii) the reluctance of families and professionals to acknowledge a child's incurable condition; and (iii) the lack of an appropriate, pediatric-focused reimbursement structure leading to insufficient community-based resources.

(3) Community-based pediatric palliative services have been shown to keep children out of the hospital by managing many symptoms in the home setting, thereby improving childhood quality of life while maintaining budget neutrality.

(Source: P.A. 102-655, eff. 1-1-22.)