Full Text of HJR0013 103rd General Assembly
HJ0013 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, There are over 1,000,000 Illinois residents that | 3 | | are not proficient in English; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois recognizes that | 5 | | comprehensive communication with one's health care provider is | 6 | | critical; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 | 8 | | guarantees individuals the right to receive interpreter | 9 | | services from health facilities that receive federal funds; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The Language Assistance Services Act affirms that | 12 | | the intent of the General Assembly is to provide quality | 13 | | health care despite the persistence of language barriers; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated a | 15 | | transition to telehealth services in which Limited English | 16 | | Proficiency (LEP) patients face structural barriers in | 17 | | accessing and utilizing, including lack of access to | 18 | | technology, need for medical interpreters, unfriendly patient | 19 | | portals, and increased privacy concerns; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The American Geriatric Society has published |
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| 1 | | findings indicating LEP patients over 60 are at a higher risk | 2 | | for worse mental and physical outcomes; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. | 4 | | Commission on Civil Rights heard testimony that LEP patients | 5 | | do not always receive interpreter services in health | 6 | | facilities and that, even when interpreter services are | 7 | | provided, it is not always an accurate interpretation; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, A survey of hospitals conducted by the American | 9 | | Medical Association found that over 80% of the hospitals | 10 | | indicated that they frequently encounter patients with limited | 11 | | English proficiency; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The current law does not hold health care | 13 | | providers and medical interpretation service companies | 14 | | accountable for failing to work with qualified or certified | 15 | | interpreters or for failing to work with best
practices in | 16 | | providing medical interpretation services; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 18 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 19 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Statewide Task Force on | 20 | | Limited English Proficient Patient Access to Quality | 21 | | Interpreter Services is hereby created to provide | 22 | | recommendations regarding access to quality interpreting |
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| 1 | | services for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients; and | 2 | | be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall focus on issues | 4 | | including, but not limited to: | 5 | | (1) The barriers preventing LEP patients from | 6 | | accessing quality interpreting services; | 7 | | (2) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic relating to | 8 | | its effects on access to quality interpreter services; | 9 | | (3) Issues concerning funding for services and | 10 | | reimbursement for health care providers; | 11 | | (4) The number and quality of certified interpreters; | 12 | | (5) Effective communication of the law to health care | 13 | | providers; and | 14 | | (6) Creating a plan for realistic enforcement of | 15 | | violations of the Language Assistance Services Act; and be | 16 | | it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of the | 18 | | following voting members, who shall have racial, ethnic, | 19 | | gender, and geographic diversity and include the following: | 20 | | (1) One member appointed by the Director of the | 21 | | Illinois Department of Public Health, who shall serve as | 22 | | chair; | 23 | | (2) Two members of the House of Representatives, one | 24 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House and one appointed by |
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| 1 | | the House Minority Leader; | 2 | | (3) Two members of the Senate, one appointed by the | 3 | | President of the Senate and one appointed by the Senate | 4 | | Minority Leader; | 5 | | (4) One member of the Governor's policy leadership | 6 | | team appointed by the Governor; and | 7 | | (5) 16 public members appointed by the Task Force | 8 | | chair: | 9 | | (a) 8 members who should equitably represent | 10 | | the following groups: | 11 | | (i) An association that advocates on | 12 | | behalf of the health of the Chinese-American | 13 | | community; | 14 | | (ii) An association that advocates on | 15 | | behalf of the health of the Hispanic/Latino | 16 | | community; and | 17 | | (iii) An association that advocates on | 18 | | behalf of the health of the midwest Asian-American | 19 | | community; | 20 | | (b) Three members who are nationally board | 21 | | certified medical interpreters who can highlight | 22 | | challenges as well as opportunities for State action | 23 | | to enhance the number of nationally board certified | 24 | | medical interpreters; | 25 | | (c) One member from an association that | 26 | | advocates on behalf of hospitals and health care |
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| 1 | | providers; | 2 | | (d) One member from an association that | 3 | | advocates on behalf of civil rights; | 4 | | (e) One member from the Illinois Department of | 5 | | Healthcare and Family Services who deals primarily | 6 | | with non-English speaking residents; | 7 | | (f) One member from the Illinois Department of | 8 | | Human Services who is knowledgeable on how LEP affects | 9 | | rural, low income families; and | 10 | | (g) One physician licensed by the State whose | 11 | | practice focuses on emergency medicine and can speak | 12 | | to the importance of quality communication as it | 13 | | relates to emergency medicine; and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall have all appointments | 15 | | made within 30 days of the adoption of this resolution; and be | 16 | | it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force members shall receive no | 18 | | compensation for their service but may receive reimbursement | 19 | | for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their | 20 | | duties, subject to the availability of funds for that purpose; | 21 | | and be it further | 22 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Public Health | 23 | | shall provide administrative support for the Task Force; and |
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| 1 | | be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet at the call of the | 3 | | chair and then shall meet at least monthly until it completes | 4 | | its work; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall submit its final | 6 | | report to the General Assembly and the Governor no later than | 7 | | January 1, 2025, and, upon the filing of its final report, is | 8 | | dissolved; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 10 | | delivered to the Director of the Illinois Department of Public | 11 | | Health, the Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader, | 12 | | the President of the Senate, the Senate Minority Leader, and | 13 | | the Governor.
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