Sen. Daniel Biss

Filed: 4/15/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1564

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1564, AS AMENDED,
3by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 5. The Health Care Right of Conscience Act is
6amended by changing Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9 and by adding
7Sections 6.1 and 6.2 as follows:
 
8    (745 ILCS 70/2)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5302)
9    Sec. 2. Findings and policy. The General Assembly finds and
10declares that people and organizations hold different beliefs
11about whether certain health care services are morally
12acceptable. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to
13respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who
14refuse to obtain, receive or accept, or who are engaged in, the
15delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care
16services and medical care whether acting individually,

 

 

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1corporately, or in association with other persons; and to
2prohibit all forms of discrimination, disqualification,
3coercion, disability or imposition of liability upon such
4persons or entities by reason of their refusing to act contrary
5to their conscience or conscientious convictions in providing,
6paying for, or refusing to obtain, receive, accept, deliver,
7pay for, or arrange for the payment of health care services and
8medical care. It is also the public policy of the State of
9Illinois to ensure that patients receive timely access to
10information and medically appropriate care.
11(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
12    (745 ILCS 70/3)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5303)
13    Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
14context clearly otherwise requires:
15    (a) "Health care" means any phase of patient care,
16including but not limited to, testing; diagnosis; prognosis;
17ancillary research; instructions; family planning,
18counselling, referrals, or any other advice in connection with
19the use or procurement of contraceptives and sterilization or
20abortion procedures; medication; or surgery or other care or
21treatment rendered by a physician or physicians, nurses,
22paraprofessionals or health care facility, intended for the
23physical, emotional, and mental well-being of persons;
24    (b) "Physician" means any person who is licensed by the
25State of Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987;

 

 

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1    (c) "Health care personnel" means any nurse, nurses' aide,
2medical school student, professional, paraprofessional or any
3other person who furnishes, or assists in the furnishing of,
4health care services;
5    (d) "Health care facility" means any public or private
6hospital, clinic, center, medical school, medical training
7institution, laboratory or diagnostic facility, physician's
8office, infirmary, dispensary, ambulatory surgical treatment
9center or other institution or location wherein health care
10services are provided to any person, including physician
11organizations and associations, networks, joint ventures, and
12all other combinations of those organizations;
13    (e) "Conscience" means a sincerely held set of moral
14convictions arising from belief in and relation to God, or
15which, though not so derived, arises from a place in the life
16of its possessor parallel to that filled by God among adherents
17to religious faiths; and
18    (f) "Health care payer" means a health maintenance
19organization, insurance company, management services
20organization, or any other entity that pays for or arranges for
21the payment of any health care or medical care service,
22procedure, or product; and .
23    (g) "Undue delay" means unreasonable delay that causes
24impairment of the patient's health.
25    The above definitions include not only the traditional
26combinations and forms of these persons and organizations but

 

 

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1also all new and emerging forms and combinations of these
2persons and organizations.
3(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
4    (745 ILCS 70/6)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5306)
5    Sec. 6. Duty of physicians and other health care personnel.
6Nothing in this Act shall relieve a physician from any duty,
7which may exist under any laws concerning current standards, of
8normal medical practice or care practices and procedures, to
9inform his or her patient of the patient's condition,
10prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks and benefits of
11treatment options, provided, however, that such physician
12shall be under no duty to perform, assist, counsel, suggest,
13recommend, refer or participate in any way in any form of
14medical practice or health care service that is contrary to his
15or her conscience.
16    Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to relieve a
17physician or other health care personnel from obligations under
18the law of providing emergency medical care.
19(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
20    (745 ILCS 70/6.1 new)
21    Sec. 6.1. Access to care and information protocols. All
22health care facilities shall adopt written access to care and
23information protocols that are designed to ensure that
24conscience-based objections do not cause impairment of

 

 

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1patients' health and that explain how conscience-based
2objections will be addressed in a timely manner to facilitate
3patient health care services. The protections of Sections 4, 5,
47, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this Act only apply if conscience-based
5refusals occur in accordance with these protocols. These
6protocols must, at a minimum, address the following:
7        (1) The health care facility, physician, or health care
8    personnel shall inform a patient of the patient's
9    condition, prognosis, legal treatment options, and risks
10    and benefits of the treatment options in a timely manner,
11    consistent with current standards of medical practice or
12    care.
13        (2) When a health care facility, physician, or health
14    care personnel is unable to permit, perform, or participate
15    in a health care service that is a diagnostic or treatment
16    option requested by a patient because the health care
17    service is contrary to the conscience of the health care
18    facility, physician, or health care personnel, then the
19    patient shall either be provided the requested health care
20    service by others in the facility or be notified that the
21    health care will not be provided and be referred,
22    transferred, or given information in accordance with
23    paragraph 3.
24        (3) If requested by the patient or the legal
25    representative of the patient, the health care facility,
26    physician, or health care personnel shall: (i) refer the

 

 

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1    patient to, or (ii) transfer the patient to, or (iii)
2    provide in writing information to the patient about other
3    health care providers who they reasonably believe may offer
4    the health care service the health care facility,
5    physician, or health personnel refuses to permit, perform,
6    or participate in because of a conscience-based objection.
7        (4) If requested by the patient or the legal
8    representative of the patient, the health care facility,
9    physician, or health care personnel shall provide copies of
10    medical records to the patient or to another health care
11    professional or health care facility designated by the
12    patient in accordance with Illinois law, without undue
13    delay.
 
14    (745 ILCS 70/6.2 new)
15    Sec. 6.2. Permissible acts related to access to care and
16information protocols. Nothing in this Act shall be construed
17to prevent a health care facility from requiring that
18physicians or health care personnel working in the facility
19comply with access to care and information protocols that
20comply with the provisions of this Act.
 
21    (745 ILCS 70/9)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5309)
22    Sec. 9. Liability. No person, association, or corporation,
23which owns, operates, supervises, or manages a health care
24facility shall be civilly or criminally liable to any person,

 

 

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1estate, or public or private entity by reason of refusal of the
2health care facility to permit or provide any particular form
3of health care service which violates the facility's conscience
4as documented in its ethical guidelines, mission statement,
5constitution, bylaws, articles of incorporation, regulations,
6or other governing documents.
7    Nothing in this Act act shall be construed so as to relieve
8a physician, or other health care personnel, or a health care
9facility from obligations under the law of providing emergency
10medical care.
11(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
12    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
131, 2016.".