102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3986

 

Introduced 3/4/2021, by Rep. Lamont J. Robinson, Jr.

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.935 new

    Creates the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a Medicaid Technical Assistance Center (Center). Provides that the Center shall operate as a cross-system educational resource to strengthen the business infrastructure of health care provider organizations in Illinois to ultimately increase the capacity, access, and quality of Illinois' Medicaid managed care program, HealthChoice Illinois. Requires the Center to be established within the Department's Office of Medicaid Innovation. Requires the Center to collaborate with public and private partners throughout the State to identify, establish, and maintain best practices necessary for health providers to ensure their capacity to participate in HealthChoice Illinois. Requires the Center to: (i) create and administer ongoing trainings for health care providers; (ii) maintain an independent, easy to navigate, and up-to-date website that includes, but is not limited to, recorded training archives, a training calendar, and provider resources and tools; and (iii) host regional learning collaboratives that will supplement the Center's training curriculum to bring together groups of stakeholders to share issues, best practices, and escalate issues. Provides that the Department, to the extent allowable under federal law, shall maximize federal financial participation for any moneys appropriated to the Department for the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. Provides that any federal financial participation funds obtained shall be used for the further development and expansion of the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Fund. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Medicaid Technical Assistance Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Behavioral health providers" means mental health and
8substance use disorder providers.
9    "Department" means the Department of Healthcare and Family
10Services.
11    "Health care providers" means organizations who provide
12physical, mental, substance use disorder, or social
13determinant of health services.
14    "Network adequacy" means a Medicaid beneficiary's ability
15to access all necessary provider types within time and
16distance standards as defined in the Managed Care Organization
17model contract.
18    "Service deserts" means geographic areas of the State with
19no or limited Medicaid providers that accept Medicaid.
20    "Social determinants of health" means any conditions that
21impact an individual's health, including, but not limited to,
22access to healthy food, safety, education, and housing
23stability.

 

 

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1    "Stakeholders" means, but are not limited to, health care
2providers, advocacy organizations, managed care organizations,
3Medicaid beneficiaries, and State and city partners.
 
4    Section 10. Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. The
5Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall establish a
6Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. The Medicaid Technical
7Assistance Center shall operate as a cross-system educational
8resource to strengthen the business infrastructure of health
9care provider organizations in Illinois to ultimately increase
10the capacity, access, and quality of Illinois' Medicaid
11managed care program, HealthChoice Illinois. The Medicaid
12Technical Assistance Center shall be established within the
13Department's Office of Medicaid Innovation.
 
14    Section 15. Collaboration. The Medicaid Technical
15Assistance Center shall collaborate with public and private
16partners throughout the State to identify, establish, and
17maintain best practices necessary for health providers to
18ensure their capacity to participate in HealthChoice Illinois.
19The Medicaid Technical Assistance Center shall administer the
20following:
21        (1) Trainings: The Medicaid Technical Assistance
22    Center shall create and administer ongoing trainings for
23    health care providers. Trainings may be subcontracted. The
24    Medicaid Technical Assistance Center shall provide

 

 

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1    in-person and web-based trainings. In-person training
2    shall be conducted throughout the State. All trainings
3    must be free of charge. The Medicaid Technical Assistance
4    Center shall administer post-training surveys and
5    incorporate feedback. Training content and delivery must
6    be reflective of Illinois providers' varying levels of
7    readiness, resources, and client populations.
8        (2) Web-based resources: The Medicaid Technical
9    Assistance Center shall maintain an independent, easy to
10    navigate, and up-to-date website that includes, but is not
11    limited to: recorded training archives, a training
12    calendar, provider resources and tools, up-to-date
13    explanations of Department and managed care organization
14    guidance, a running database of frequently asked questions
15    and contact information for key staff members of the
16    Department, managed care organizations, and the Medicaid
17    Technical Assistance Center.
18        (3) Learning collaboratives: The Medicaid Technical
19    Assistance Center shall host regional learning
20    collaboratives that will supplement the Medicaid Technical
21    Assistance Center training curriculum to bring together
22    groups of stakeholders to share issues, best practices,
23    and escalate issues. Leadership of the Department and
24    managed care organizations shall attend learning
25    collaboratives on a quarterly basis.
26        (4) Network adequacy reports: The Medicaid Technical

 

 

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1    Assistance Center shall publicly release a report on
2    Medicaid provider network adequacy within the first 3
3    years of implementation and annually thereafter. The
4    reports shall identify provider service deserts and health
5    care disparities by race and ethnicity.
 
6    Section 20. Federal financial participation. The
7Department of Healthcare and Family Services, to the extent
8allowable under federal law, shall maximize federal financial
9participation for any moneys appropriated to the Department
10for the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. Any federal
11financial participation funds obtained in accordance with this
12Section shall be used for the further development and
13expansion of the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. All
14federal financial participation funds obtained under this
15subsection shall be deposited into the Medicaid Technical
16Assistance Center Fund created under Section 25.
 
17    Section 25. Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Fund. The
18Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Fund is created as a
19special fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of
20any moneys appropriated to the Department of Healthcare and
21Family Services for the purposes of this Act and any federal
22financial participation funds obtained as provided under
23Section 20. Moneys in the Fund shall be used for carrying out
24the purposes of this Act and for no other purpose. All interest

 

 

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1earned on the moneys in the Fund shall be deposited into the
2Fund.
 
3    Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
4Section 5.935 as follows:
 
5    (30 ILCS 105/5.935 new)
6    Sec. 5.935. The Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Fund.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.