State of Illinois
Introduced 2/20/2024, by Sen. Mike Simmons
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
Provides legislative findings. Appropriates specified amounts to the Department of Public Health for grants, expenses, and administrative costs of programs relating to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus; the Getting to Zero-Illinois plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030; the prevention, screening, and treatment services to address sexually transmitted infection cases; and the PrEP4Illinois Program to provide client navigation for pre-exposure prophylaxis services and medication access. Contains other provisions. Effective July 1, 2024.
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AN ACT concerning appropriations.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Legislative findings.
(a) For more than 4 decades, HIV/AIDS has ravaged communities across America and Illinois, doubling down on the racial health disparities also laid bare across the opioid epidemic, maternal and infant mortality rates, COVID-19 mortality and morbidity rates, and the rising rates of sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
(b) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV transmission can be virtually eliminated when linkage to HIV medications and medical care are widely accessible. Treatment and prevention strategies, such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Undetectable=Untransmittable (U=U), are time-tested, science-based interventions that prevent new HIV diagnoses. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a prevention strategy that involves sexually active HIV-negative adults and adolescents taking prescription medications to prevent HIV acquisition. PrEP is 99% effective in preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. U=U acknowledges the proven science that people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load pose no chance of transmitting the virus sexually. However, issues relating to access to health care, housing, steady and sufficient income, mental health and substance-use services, HIV treatment, addressing HIV-related stigma, and access to PrEP persist as barriers to lowering the HIV incidence rates across Illinois.
(c) The State of Illinois will need to develop and support programs grounded in racial health equity to address the health disparities experienced by people who are living with or vulnerable to HIV, especially among our Black, Latiné, and LGBTQ+ communities. These new State funding opportunities for Fiscal Year 2025 aim to increase access to clinical and supportive services for HIV testing, treatment, and prevention that will further advance the goals and strategies of the Getting to Zero Illinois plan to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030.
Section 5. The following named amounts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the Department of Public Health for expenses of programs related to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV):
OFFICE OF HEALTH PROTECTION: AIDS/HIV
No less than one-half (50%) of all funds appropriated in any fiscal year to the Department of Public Health's Office of Health Protection: AIDS/HIV Division shall be used for expenses pursuant to HIV/AIDS programs serving minority populations.
Payable from the General Revenue Fund:
For Expenses of AIDS/HIV Education, Drugs,
Services, Counseling, Testing, Outreach to
Minority Populations, Costs Associated with
Correctional Facilities Counseling, Testing
Referral and Partner Notification (CTRPN),
and Patient and Worker Notification Pursuant
to Public Act 87-763........................ $27,562,400
For Grants and Other Expenses for the Prevention
and Treatment of HIV/AIDS and the Creation of an
HIV/AIDS Service Delivery System to Reduce the
the Disparity of HIV Infection and AIDS Cases
Between African Americans and Other
Population Groups............................ $4,000,000
Payable from the Public Health Services Fund:
For Expenses of Programs for
Prevention of AIDS/HIV......................... $7,250,000
For Expenses for Surveillance Programs and
Seroprevalence Studies of AIDS/HIV............ $2,750,000
For Expenses Associated with the Ryan White
Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act of
1990 (CARE) and other AIDS/HIV services..... $100,000,000
Payable from the Quality of Life Endowment Fund:
For Grants and Expenses Associated with HIV/AIDS
Prevention and Education...................... $1,000,000
Total $142,562,400
Section 10. The sum of $15,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the African-American HIV/AIDS Response Fund to the Department of Public Health for grants and administrative expenses associated with the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and the creation of an HIV/AIDS service delivery system to reduce the disparity of HIV infection and AIDS cases among African-Americans.
Section 15. The sum of $5,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the Department of Public Health from the General Revenue Fund for expenses of programs related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and specifically to the Getting to Zero-Illinois (GTZ) plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
Section 20. The sum of $500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the Department of Public Health from the General Revenue Fund for expenses of programs related to the prevention, screening, and treatment services to address sexually transmitted infection (STI) cases.
Section 25. The sum of $2,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the Department of Public Health from the General Revenue Fund for expenses of programs related to the PrEP4Illinois Program to provide client navigation for pre-exposure prophylaxis services and medication access. A portion of this funding must be spent on establishing the mechanism, process, policy, or system needed to allow the PrEP4Illinois program to pay for the ancillary services (including, but not limited to, provider office visits or labs) associated with being on pre-exposure prophylaxis, as well as to begin covering the cost of such ancillary services for the uninsured and underinsured people in the Department of Public Health's PrEP4Illinois program.
Section 30. The sum of $2,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for grants, expenses of programs and administrative costs related to the implementation of the Rapid Start for HIV treatment pilot program. A portion of this funding shall be used to cover administrative expenses to hire an HIV Treatment Innovation Coordinator that will develop and execute a comprehensive strategy to adopt a Rapid Start model for HIV treatment as the standard of care.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024.