093_SB1430

 
                                     LRB093 06261 JLS 10989 b

 1        AN ACT to create the Health Care Justice Act.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
 5    Health Care Justice Act.

 6        Section 5.  Legislative findings.  The  General  Assembly
 7    recognizes   that  an  estimated  1,800,000  Illinoisans  are
 8    without health insurance, a growing number of Illinoisans are
 9    under-insured, the consumer's share of  the  cost  of  health
10    insurance   is  growing,  coverage  in  benefit  packages  is
11    decreasing, and record numbers  of  consumer  complaints  are
12    lodged  against  managed  care  companies regarding access to
13    necessary  health  care  services.   The   General   Assembly
14    believes that the State must work to assure access to quality
15    health  care  for  all residents of Illinois, and at the same
16    time,  the  State  must  contain  health  care  costs   while
17    maintaining  and  improving  the quality of health care.  The
18    General Assembly finds that  community-based  primary  health
19    care  services  provided  by a wide range of qualified health
20    care providers is the  most  effective  way  to  achieve  the
21    health and well-being of residents of Illinois.

22        Section  10.  Policy.   It  is the policy of the State of
23    Illinois to insure that all residents have access to  quality
24    health care at costs that are affordable.

25        Section  15.  Health  care  access  plan.   On  or before
26    January 1, 2007, the State  of  Illinois  shall  implement  a
27    health care access plan that does the following:
28             (1)  provides  access to a full range of preventive,
29        acute, and long-term health care services;
 
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 1             (2)  maintains and improves the  quality  of  health
 2        care services offered to Illinois residents;
 3             (3)  provides portability of coverage, regardless of
 4        employment status;
 5             (4)  provides  uniform  benefits  for  all  Illinois
 6        residents;
 7             (5)  encourages    regional   and   local   consumer
 8        participation in decisions about  health  care  delivery,
 9        financing, and provider supply;
10             (6)  controls capital and overall expenditures;
11             (7)  provides   global  budgeting  for  health  care
12        providers;
13             (8)  avoids   unnecessary   duplication    in    the
14        development  and  availability  of health care facilities
15        and services;
16             (9)  provides  a   mechanism   for   reviewing   and
17        implementing  multiple  approaches to preventive medicine
18        based on new technologies; and
19             (10)  implements comprehensive health planning  tied
20        to a unified State health care budget.

21        Section  20.  Bipartisan  Health  Care Reform Commission.
22    There is created a Bipartisan Health Care Reform  Commission.
23    The  Commission  shall  consist  of  30 members including the
24    Director of the Department of Public Health or his  designee,
25    the Director of the Department on Aging or his designee,  the
26    Director of the Department of Public Aid or his designee, the
27    Director  of the Department of Insurance or his designee, and
28    3 members from the Department of  Human  Services,  including
29    the Secretary of Human Services or his designee, the Director
30    of  the  Division  of  Community Health and Prevention or his
31    designee, and the Director of the Division of Disability  and
32    Behavioral  Health  Services,  or  his  designee, all of whom
33    shall be ex-officio non-voting members.   Voting  members  of
 
                            -3-      LRB093 06261 JLS 10989 b
 1    the  Commission  shall  include  2  members  appointed by the
 2    President of the Senate, 2 members appointed by the  Minority
 3    Leader  of  the Senate, 2 members appointed by the Speaker of
 4    the House of Representatives, and 2 members appointed by  the
 5    Minority  Leader  of  the  House  of  Representatives.    The
 6    remaining  15  members shall be appointed by the Governor and
 7    shall include health care  consumers,  advocates  for  health
 8    care   consumers,   health   care  providers,  health  policy
 9    analysts,    representatives    from     organized     labor,
10    representatives  from the business community, economists, and
11    a representative from a statewide advocacy  organization  for
12    persons   with   disabilities.   Physicians,  nurses,  social
13    workers,  and   health   care   administrators   shall   have
14    representation on the Commission.   Appointment of members of
15    the  Commission shall ensure proportional representation with
16    respect to geography, ethnicity, race, gender, and age.   The
17    Commission  shall  have  a  chairman  and a vice-chairman who
18    shall be elected by the voting members at the  first  meeting
19    of  the  Commission.   The members of the Commission shall be
20    appointed within 90 days after the  effective  date  of  this
21    Act.   The Departments of State government represented on the
22    Commission shall work cooperatively to provide administrative
23    support for the Commission.

24        Section 25.  Public hearings and preliminary report.
25        (a)  The  Commission  shall  seek  public  input  on  the
26    development of the health care  access  plan  by  holding  at
27    least 10 public hearings in different geographic locations in
28    the  State,  including urban, rural, suburban, and small city
29    sites between January 2, 2004, and  September 1, 2004.    The
30    Commission  may  also  consult  with  health  care providers,
31    health care consumers, and other appropriate individuals  and
32    organizations to assist in the development of the health care
33    access plan.
 
                            -4-      LRB093 06261 JLS 10989 b
 1        (b)  Not   later   than   April  1,  2004,  the  Illinois
 2    Department of Public  Health,  using  a  public  request  for
 3    proposals   process,   shall  contract  with  an  independent
 4    research entity experienced in assessing health care reforms,
 5    health care financing, and health care delivery models.   The
 6    research  entity  shall  be  required  to  review  issues and
 7    information  from  the  public  hearings  described  in  this
 8    Section and analyze various health care plan options.
 9        (c)  The research entity shall be required  to  submit  a
10    report  on the public hearings and an analysis of health care
11    plan options to the Department of Public Health no later than
12    February 1, 2005.  Copies of the report shall be sent to  the
13    members  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  Governor,  and the
14    Commission.

15        Section 30.  Public hearings and final report.  Following
16    the submission of the report  by  the  research  entity,  the
17    Commission  shall  hold  10  additional  public  hearings  in
18    different geographic locations in the State, including urban,
19    rural,  suburban, and small city sites to obtain public input
20    in the development of the  final  health  care  access  plan.
21    These  hearings  shall  be  held  between  April  1, 2005 and
22    October 31, 2005.  The  Commission  shall  also  ensure  that
23    residents throughout the State of Illinois are informed about
24    the  different  plan  proposals under consideration including
25    the content of each of the plan proposals and the impact each
26    may have on the quality and availability of  health  care  in
27    Illinois.
28        No  later  than  February  1,  2006, the Commission shall
29    submit its final report on the health care access plan to the
30    General Assembly and the  Governor.   The  final  report  may
31    recommend  more than one type of plan and alternative methods
32    of funding the plan. The final report by the Commission shall
33    make recommendations that shall be the  basis  for  a  health
 
                            -5-      LRB093 06261 JLS 10989 b
 1    care access plan or plans that provide access to a full range
 2    of  preventive,  acute, and long-term health care services to
 3    residents of the  State  of  Illinois  by  January  1,  2007,
 4    including:
 5             (1)  an  integrated system or systems of health care
 6        delivery;
 7             (2)  incentives to be  used  to  contain  costs  and
 8        direct resources;
 9             (3)  uniform  benefits  that would be provided under
10        each type of plan;
11             (4)  reimbursement  mechanisms   for   health   care
12        providers;
13             (5)  administrative efficiencies;
14             (6)  mechanisms  for  generating spending priorities
15        based on multidisciplinary standards of care  established
16        by  verifiable  replicated research studies demonstrating
17        quality  and   cost   effectiveness   of   interventions,
18        providers, and facilities;
19             (7)  mechanisms  for  applying  and implementing the
20        unified health care budget on a statewide  basis  to  all
21        sectors of the health care system;
22             (8)  methods  for  reducing the cost of prescription
23        drugs both as part of, and as separate from,  the  health
24        care access plan;
25             (9)  appropriate  reallocation  of  existing  health
26        care resources;
27             (10)  equitable financing of each proposal; and
28             (11)  recommendations  concerning  the  delivery  of
29        long-term care services, including:
30                  (A)  those currently covered under Title XIX of
31             the Social Security Act;
32                  (B)  recommendations  on potential cost sharing
33             arrangements for long-term  care  services  and  the
34             phasing in of such arrangements over time;
 
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 1                  (C)  consideration   of   the   potential   for
 2             utilizing informal care-giving by friends and family
 3             members;
 4                  (D)  recommendations     on    cost-containment
 5             strategies for long-term care services;
 6                  (E)  the  possibility  of   using   independent
 7             financing   for  the  provision  of  long-term  care
 8             services; and
 9                  (F)  the  projected  cost  to  the   State   of
10             Illinois  over  the next 20 years if no changes were
11             made in the present system of delivering and  paying
12             for long-term care services.
13        The  final  report  shall  also include findings from the
14    public hearings held by the Commission between April 1, 2005,
15    and October 31, 2005.   In  addition,  the  Commission  shall
16    present  in its final report the range of services that would
17    be available under each plan proposal if there were to be  no
18    increase,  beyond  inflation,  in the total gross health care
19    expenditures in Illinois as determined by the Commission  for
20    the  first  year that the health care access plan would be in
21    effect.   The  plan  proposals   shall   also   address   any
22    anticipated  or  actual changes in federal policies regarding
23    the availability and cost of health  care  and  assess  their
24    adequacy for achieving the goals of this Act.  The Commission
25    shall  consult  with  the  Illinois  Department  on  Aging in
26    developing its recommendations on long-term care services.

27        Section 35.  Effective Date.  This Act takes effect  upon
28    becoming law.