Rep. Lakesia Collins

Filed: 3/20/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300HB3571ham002LRB103 29393 RJT 59380 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3571

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3571 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan
6Repayment Program Act.
 
7    Section 5. Purpose; findings.
8    (a) The purpose of this Act is to help licensed hospice
9programs recruit and retain qualified professionals and
10address this State's community-based hospice and palliative
11care workforce shortage. The goal of the program is to reduce
12disparities in access to critical health services for people
13who have serious illnesses or who are nearing the end of life.
14    (b) The General Assembly finds:
15        (1) Racial minorities are underrepresented as hospice
16    and palliative care and interdisciplinary healthcare

 

 

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1    providers in the State.
2        (2) It is in the interest of the State to provide
3    racial minorities priority in consideration for programs
4    that encourage racial minority participation in hospice
5    and palliative care and interdisciplinary healthcare
6    providers.
7        (3) A workforce that is more reflective of the
8    seriously ill population in a minority community can
9    improve the use of hospice and palliative care services,
10    which will address inequities in health outcomes for this
11    population.
12        (4) It is necessary to give priority to applicants of
13    racial minorities because of these findings.
 
14    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
15    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
16Commission.
17    "Hospice and palliative care professional" means a person
18who is employed by a hospice program and is a physician,
19licensed advanced practice registered nurse, licensed
20registered nurse, licensed social worker, licensed clinical
21social worker, or licensed practical nurse.
22    "Hospice program" means a public agency or private
23organization, or subdivision of either, that is licensed by
24the State as a comprehensive hospice program as defined in the
25Hospice Program Licensing Act and is also Medicare-certified.

 

 

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1    "Loan Repayment Program" means the Community Hospice and
2Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program
3established under this Act.
4    "Physician" means a person licensed by this State to
5practice medicine in all its branches and includes any
6physician holding a temporary license, as provided in the
7Medical Practice Act of 1987.
 
8    Section 15. Community Hospice and Palliative Care
9Professional Loan Repayment Program. The Commission shall
10establish between July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 the
11Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan
12Repayment Program, which shall be administered by the
13Commission. The program shall provide loan repayment
14assistance, subject to appropriation, to eligible hospice and
15palliative professionals practicing in a hospice program that
16provides services in the State.
 
17    Section 20. Applications. Each year, the Commission shall
18receive and consider applications for loan repayment
19assistance under this Act. All applications must be submitted
20to the Commission in a form and manner prescribed by the
21Commission. Applicants must submit any supporting documents
22deemed necessary by the Commission at the time of application.
 
23    Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount.

 

 

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1Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant
2to each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The
3Commission shall encourage the recipient of a grant awarded
4under this Act to use the grant award for payments towards the
5recipient's educational loans. The yearly appropriation for
6the program shall be divided as follows: (i) 10% toward awards
7for physicians; (ii) 10% toward awards for licensed advanced
8practice registered nurses; (iii) 42% toward awards for
9licensed registered nurses; (iv) 28% toward awards for
10licensed social workers and licensed clinical social workers;
11and (v) 10% toward awards for licensed practical nurses. The
12award amount shall be based on a percentage of an awardee's
13total outstanding loan balance. The maximum amount of any
14award shall not exceed 15% of the awardee's total outstanding
15loan balance for that award year. Any unawarded funds
16allocated to a professional group shall be distributed toward
17awards for a different professional group at the discretion of
18the Commission.
 
19    Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement.
20    (a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community
21Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment
22Program, the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies
23all of the following:
24        (1) the applicant is a United States citizen or an
25    eligible noncitizen;

 

 

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1        (2) the applicant is a resident of this State;
2        (3) the applicant has worked for at least 12
3    consecutive months as a hospice and palliative care
4    professional in a hospice program in the State and has
5    worked (i) at least 10 hours per week if the applicant is a
6    physician, or (ii) at least 32 hours per week if the
7    applicant is not a physician;
8        (4) the applicant is a borrower with an outstanding
9    balance due on an educational loan; and
10        (5) the applicant has not defaulted on an educational
11    loan.
12    (b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous
13recipient of a grant under the program, provided that the
14recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under
15this Section.
16    (c) A recipient of a grant under the program must complete
17a separate 12-month period working in a hospice program in the
18State for each grant that the recipient is awarded and must,
19during that 12-month period, work (i) at least 10 hours per
20week if the applicant is a physician or (ii) at least 32 hours
21per week if the applicant is not a physician.
22    (d) If an appropriation for this program for a given
23fiscal year is insufficient to provide grants to all qualified
24applicants, the Commission shall allocate the appropriation in
25accordance with this subsection. If funds are insufficient to
26provide all qualified applicants with a grant as authorized by

 

 

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1this Section, the Commission shall allocate the available
2grant funds for that fiscal year to qualified applicants who
3submit a complete application on or before a date specified by
4the Commission, based on the following order of priority:
5        (1) first, to new, qualified applicants or previous,
6    qualified recipients of a grant who are members of a
7    racial minority as defined in subsection (e); and
8        (2) second, to other new, qualified applicants or
9    previous, qualified recipients of a grant in accordance
10    with this Section.
11    (e) The Commission shall give priority to those applicants
12who are members of a racial minority, which means a person who
13is a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent
14resident alien of the United States and who is:
15        (1) Black, or a person having origins in any of the
16    black racial groups in Africa;
17        (2) Hispanic, or a person of Spanish or Portuguese
18    culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America,
19    or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race;
20        (3) Asian American, or a person having origins in any
21    of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia,
22    the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands; or
23        (4) American Indian or Alaskan Native, or a person
24    having origins in any of the original peoples of North
25    America.
 

 

 

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1    Section 35. Administration; rules. The Commission shall
2administer the program and shall adopt rules not inconsistent
3with this Act to implement and administer this Act.
 
4    Section 40. Act inoperative. This Act is inoperative 10
5years the effective date of the Act.
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.".