Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB4515

Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to make the Health Care Worker Registry that includes background check and training information accessible by health care employers. Allows the Department to maintain a publicly accessible registry. Makes changes regarding information that must be contained in the registry accessible to health care employers. Requires the Department to limit specific offense information on an applicant or employee. Requires that after June 30, 2016, the public registry report that an individual is ineligible for employment if he or she has a disqualifying offense under the Health Care Worker Background Check Act and has not received a waiver under that Act. Requires that the public registry report than an individual is eligible for employment if he or she has received a waiver but not the waiver information. Amends the Health Care Worker Background Check Act. Allows a health care employer to hire an individual with a disqualifying offense if the individual has received a waiver under the Act (rather than in the discretion of the Department of Public Health, no health care employer shall knowingly hire, employ, or retain any individual in a position with duties involving direct care for clients, patients, or residents, and no long-term care facility shall knowingly hire, employ, or retain any individual in a position with duties that involve or may involve contact with residents or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of residents, who has been convicted of committing or attempting to commit certain offenses). Creates a Health Care Worker Registry working group in the Office of the Governor. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the contents of the introduced bill with the following changes: In provisions amending the Nursing Home Care Act, removes provisions prohibiting the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from posting specific information regarding disqualifying offenses, including the charge or date of an offense, on the Health Care Worker Registry. In provisions amending the Health Care Worker Background Check Act, provides that the Department of Public Health may, at the discretion of the Director of Public Health, grant a waiver to an applicant, student, or employee listed on the registry. In provisions concerning an applicant receiving a written notification by the Department of its decision on whether to grant a waiver, removes the exception in cases where a rehabilitation waiver is granted. In provisions concerning the Health Care Worker Registry working group, provides that the Department of Public Health and the Governor's Office shall provide the working group with any relevant aggregate data currently available that is related to the waiver process and its effectiveness. Provides that the working group shall identify any gaps in information currently collected that would inform the working group's efforts and make recommendations to the Governor's Office and the General Assembly about what additional data should be collected to evaluate and monitor the success of the waiver process by July 1, 2017. Removes provisions requiring the Department of Public Health to identify ways to analyze information regarding the employment of people with waivers and report the information to the working group. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

In provisions amending the Health Care Worker Background Check Act, provides that when the Department of Public Health sends an applicant, student, or employee written notification of its decision whether to grant a waiver, the written notification shall include a list of the specific disqualifying offense for which the waiver is being granted not denied. Provides that the Department shall issue additional copies of the written notification upon the applicant's, student's, or employee's request.

In provisions amending the Nursing Home Care Act, provides that after January 1, 2017 (rather than June 30, 2016) the publicly accessible Health Care Worker Registry shall report if an individual is ineligible because of a disqualifying offense and has not received a waiver. Changes the effective date to January 1, 2017 (rather than upon becoming law).

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