93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4562


 
Introduced 02/03/04, by William Delgado
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		













New Act











    Creates the Health Care
Justice Act.  Provides that by July 1, 2007, the State of
Illinois
shall implement a health care access plan that provides access to
a full range
of preventive, acute, and long-term health care services and contains other
features.  Establishes the
Adequate
Health Care Task Force with members appointed by the Governor.
Provides for public hearings and
requires a final report from the Task Force by
March 15, 2006.
Requires enactment of legislation by
December 31, 2006.
Effective July 1, 2004.



















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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
















 


 


A BILL FOR









 














HB4562

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    AN ACT concerning health care.

 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:


 
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    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Health 
5
Care
Justice Act.

 
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    Section 5. Legislative findings.  The General Assembly 
7
recognizes that the
U.S. census reported that on any given day 
8
an
estimated
1,800,000 Illinoisans are without health 
9
insurance,
and according to a March 2003 Robert Wood Johnson 
10
study, nearly 30% of the
non-elderly Illinois population 
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(3,122,000) during all or a large part of 2001 or 2002 were

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uninsured;
a growing number of
Illinoisans are under-insured, 
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the consumer's share of the cost of health
insurance is 
14
growing, coverage in benefit packages is decreasing, and
record 
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numbers of consumer complaints are lodged against managed care

16
companies regarding access to necessary health care services.  
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The
General Assembly believes that the State must work to 
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assure access to
quality health care for all residents of 
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Illinois, and at the same time, the
State must contain health 
20
care costs while maintaining and improving the
quality of 
21
health care.  The General Assembly finds that community-based

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primary health care services provided by a wide range of 
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qualified health
care providers is the most effective way to 
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achieve the health and well-being
of residents of Illinois.

 
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    Section 10. Policy.  It is the policy of the State of 
26
Illinois to insure
that all residents
have access to quality 
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health care at costs that are affordable.

 
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    Section 15. Health care access plan.  On or before July 1, 
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2007, the
State of
Illinois shall implement a health care 
30
access plan that does the
following:


 


 









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        (1) provides access to a full range of preventive, 
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    acute, and
long-term health care services;


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        (2) maintains and improves the quality of health care 
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    services offered
to Illinois residents;


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        (3) provides portability of coverage, regardless of 
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    employment status;


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        (4) provides core benefits for all Illinois residents;


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        (5) encourages regional and local consumer 
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    participation;


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        (6) contains cost-containment measures;


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        (7) provides a mechanism for reviewing and 
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    implementing multiple
approaches to preventive medicine 
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    based on new technologies; and


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        (8) promotes affordable coverage options for the small 
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    business market.

 
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    Section 20. Adequate Health Care Task Force.
There is 
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created an Adequate Health Care Task Force.  The Task Force

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shall consist of 24 members, including
the Director of Public 
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Health or his or her designee, the
Director of Aging or his or 
20
her designee,  the Director of
Public Aid or his or her 
21
designee, the Director of
Insurance or his or her designee, and 
22
the Secretary of
Human Services or his or her designee,
all of 
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whom shall be
ex-officio non-voting members.
The remaining 19 
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members of the Task Force shall be voting members and shall be

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appointed by
the Governor, one from each congressional district 
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in Illinois. These voting
members
shall be appointed to include 
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representation of health care consumers,
advocates
for
health 
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care consumers, health care providers, health policy analysts,

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organized labor, the business
community or a business 
30
association, economists, a statewide advocacy
organization for 
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persons with disabilities, physicians, nurses, social
workers, 
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a hospital or hospital network or association, an insurer or 
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insurance
group, and health care
administrators.
 Appointment 
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of members of the Task Force shall ensure
proportional 
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representation with respect to geography, ethnicity, race,

 


 









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gender, and age.  The Task Force shall have a chairman and a 
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vice-chairman who
shall be elected by the voting members at the 
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first meeting
of the Task Force.  The members of the Task Force 
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shall be appointed
within 30 days after the effective date of 
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this Act.  The departments of State
government represented on

6
the Task Force shall work cooperatively to provide 
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administrative
support for the Task Force, with the Department 
8
of Public Health taking the
lead.

 
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    Section 25. Public hearings.

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    (a) The Task Force shall seek public
input on the 
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development of the health care access plan by holding
a public 
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hearing in each Illinois congressional district starting no 
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later than January 1, 2005 and
ending on November 30, 2005. 
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Each State Representative and State Senator
located in
each 
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such congressional district shall host or otherwise involve 
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themselves in
the hearing in that district
and help to gather 
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input. A web site for the Task Force shall be developed and

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linked to
the General Assembly's home page and the Governor's 
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home page for input to be
provided and to keep the public 
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informed. The Task Force's web site shall be
specifically 
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highlighted and have independent pages reporting all 
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activities
and linkages
for people to access. Minutes from all 
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of the Task Force's meetings shall be
available on
the web 
24
site, and a hard copy of this information shall also be made 
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available
for those
persons without access to the Task Force's 
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web site.
The Task Force may also consult with
health care 
27
providers, health care consumers, and other appropriate

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individuals and organizations to assist in the development of 
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the
health care access plan.

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    (b) Not later than September 1, 2004, the Illinois 
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Department of Public
Health,
subject to appropriation or the 
32
availability of other funds for such purposes
and using a 
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public request for proposals process, shall
contract with an

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independent research entity experienced in assessing health 
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care reforms,
health care financing, and health care delivery 
 


 









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models.  Upon the request of at
least one-fourth of the Task 
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Force members, the research entity
shall be
available to the 
3
Task Force for the purpose of assessing financial costs and
the 
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different
health care models being discussed. All inquiries 
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made by Task Force members to
the
independent research entity 
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shall be made available on the Task Force's web
site.

 
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    Section 30. Final report.
No later than March 15, 2006, the 
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Task Force shall submit its final report
on the health care 
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access plan to the General Assembly and the
Governor.  The final 
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report may recommend a combination of more than one type
of 
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plan
and alternative methods of funding the plan. The final 
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report by the
Task Force
shall make
recommendations that shall 
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be the basis for a health care access plan or plans
that shall 
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attempt to answer all or some of the following issues that 
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would
provide access to a full
range of preventive, acute, and 
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long-term health care services to residents
of the State of 
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Illinois by July 1, 2007, including:


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        (1) an integrated system or systems of health care 
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    delivery;


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        (2) incentives to be used to contain costs;


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        (3) core benefits that would be provided under each 
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    type of plan;


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        (4) reimbursement mechanisms for health care 
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    providers;


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        (5) administrative efficiencies;


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        (6) mechanisms for generating spending priorities 
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    based on
multidisciplinary standards of care established 
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    by verifiable replicated
research studies demonstrating 
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    quality and cost effectiveness of
interventions, 
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    providers, and facilities;


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        (7) methods for reducing the cost of prescription drugs 
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    both as part of,
and as
separate from, the health care 
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    access plan;


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        (8) appropriate reallocation of existing health care 
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    resources;


 


 









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        (9) equitable financing of each proposal; and


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        (10) recommendations concerning the delivery of 
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    long-term care services,
including:


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            (A) those currently covered under Title XIX of the 
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        Social Security
Act;


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            (B) recommendations on potential cost sharing 
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        arrangements for
long-term care services and the 
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        phasing in of such arrangements over
time;


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            (C) consideration of the potential for utilizing 
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        informal care-giving by
friends and family members;


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            (D) recommendations on cost-containment strategies 
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        for long-term
care services;


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            (E) the possibility of using independent financing 
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        for the provision of
long-term care services; and


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            (F) the projected cost to the State of Illinois 
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        over the next 20 years
if
no changes were made in the 
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        present system of delivering and paying
for long-term 
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        care services.

 
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    Section 35. Further legislative action.
No later than 
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December 31, 2006, the General Assembly shall vote on

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legislation that either enacts the Task Force's recommendation 
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or provides for
another
health care access plan that meets the 
23
criteria set forth in Section 15.

 
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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July 
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1, 2004.