Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB5290

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Creates the Medical Debt Relief Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish by January 1, 2025, subject to appropriation, a Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program to discharge the medical debt of eligible Illinois residents. Provides that under the pilot program the Department shall provide grant funding to a nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to use the grant funds and any other private funds available to negotiate and settle, to the extent possible, the medical debt of eligible residents owed to hospitals and other health care providers and entities. Provides that hospitals and other health care providers and entities may be located outside of the State of Illinois, so long as the negotiation and settlement of medical debt is on behalf of an eligible resident. Requires the Department to administer the pilot program consistent with the requirements of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act to determine which nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to use, unless the Department and the State's Grant Accountability and Transparency Unit determine that only a single nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator has the capacity and willingness to carry out the duties specified in the Medical Debt Relief Act. Sets forth certain actions the selected nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator shall perform to effectuate the purposes of the pilot program. Requires the Department to provide annual reports to the Governor and the General Assembly on the amount of medical debt purchased and discharged under the pilot program, the number of eligible residents who received medical debt relief under the pilot program, the demographic characteristics of the eligible residents, and other matters. Requires the Department to adopt rules. Provides that the Act is repealed on July 1, 2029. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Provides that all moneys in the Fund shall be appropriated to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and expended exclusively for the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program to provide grant funding to a nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to be used to discharge the medical debt of eligible residents as defined in the Medical Debt Relief Act. Provides that based on a budget approved by the Department, the grant funding may also be used for any administrative services provided by the nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to discharge the medical debt of eligible residents. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Includes in the list of modifications of a taxpayer's adjusted gross income for the taxable year, if the taxpayer is an eligible resident as defined in the Medical Debt Relief Act, an amount equal to the amount included in the taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income that is attributable to medical debt relief received by the taxpayer during the taxable year from a nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator under the provisions of the Medical Debt Relief Act. Effective immediately.

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