[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_HB2332
LRB9104565DJcd
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Rural/Downstate Health Act
2 by changing Section 2.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Rural/Downstate Health Act is
6 amended by changing Section 2 as follows:
7 (410 ILCS 65/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 8052)
8 Sec. 2. Findings; definition. The General Assembly finds
9 that citizens in the rural, downstate and designated shortage
10 areas of this State are increasingly faced with problems in
11 accessing necessary health care. The closure of small rural
12 hospitals, the inability of these areas to attract new
13 physicians, the elimination of existing physician services
14 because of increasing practice costs, including the cost of
15 providing malpractice insurance, and the lack of systems of
16 emergency medical care contribute to the access problems
17 experienced experience by these residents. While Illinois is
18 not unique in experiencing these problems, the need to
19 maintain or enhance the economies of these areas of the State
20 requires that new and innovative strategies be identified and
21 implemented to respond to the health care needs of residents
22 of these areas. It is therefore the intent of this General
23 Assembly to create a program to respond to this problem.
24 For purposes of this Act, "designated shortage areas"
25 means medically underserved areas or health manpower shortage
26 area as defined by the United States Department of Health and
27 Human Services or as otherwise designated by the Illinois
28 Department of Public Health.
29 (Source: P.A. 86-965; 86-1187; revised 10-31-98.)