SB2424enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2424 Enrolled LRB093 20684 DRJ 46553 b

AN ACT concerning health.

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

Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section 2310-353 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2310/2310-353 new)

Sec. 2310-353. Cervical Cancer Elimination Task Force.

(a) A standing Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination ("Task Force") is established within the Illinois Department of Public Health.

(b) The Task Force shall have 12 members appointed by the Director of Public Health as follows:

(1) A representative of an organization relating to women and cancer.

(2) A representative of an organization providing health care to women.

(3) A health educator.

(4) A representative of a national organization relating to cancer treatment who is an oncologist.

(5) A representative of the health insurance industry.

(6) A representative of a national organization of obstetricians and gynecologists.

(7) A representative of a national organization of family physicians.

(8) The State Epidemiologist.

(9) A member at-large with an interest in women's health.

(10) A social marketing expert on health issues.

(11) A licensed registered nurse.

(12) A member of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Medical Advisory Committee.

The directors of Public Health and Public Aid, and the Secretary of Human Services, or their designees, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Conference of Women Legislators in Illinois, or their designees, shall be ex officio members of the Task Force. The Director of Public Health shall also consult with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate in the designation of members of the Illinois General Assembly as ex-officio members.

Appointments to the Task Force should reflect the composition of the Illinois population with regard to ethnic, racial, age, and religious composition.

(c) The Director of Public Health shall appoint a Chair from among the members of the Task Force. The Task Force shall elect a Vice-Chair from its members. Initial appointments to the Task Force shall be made not later than 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly. A majority of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business. The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly. The Task Force Chair may establish sub-committees for the purpose of making special studies; such sub-committees may include non-Task-Force members as resource persons.

(d) Members of the Task Force shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties. The Department of Public Health shall provide staff and technical assistance to the Task Force to the extent possible within annual appropriations for its ordinary and contingent expenses.

(e) The Task Force shall have the following duties:

(1) To obtain from the Department of Public Health, if available, data and analyses regarding the prevalence and burden of cervical cancer. The Task Force may conduct or arrange for independent studies and analyses.

(2) To coordinate the efforts of the Task Force with existing State committees and programs providing cervical cancer screening, education, and case management.

(3) To raise public awareness on the causes and nature of cervical cancer, personal risk factors, the value of prevention, early detection, options for testing, treatment costs, new technology, medical care reimbursement, and physician education.

(4) To identify priority strategies, new technologies, and newly introduced vaccines that are effective in preventing and controlling the risk of cervical cancer.

(5) To identify and examine the limitations of existing laws, regulations, programs, and services with regard to coverage and awareness issues for cervical cancer, including requiring insurance or other coverage for PAP smears and mammograms in accordance with the most recently published American Cancer Society guidelines.

(6) To develop a statewide comprehensive Cervical Cancer Prevention Plan and strategies for implementing the Plan and for promoting the Plan to the general public, State and local elected officials, and various public and private organizations, associations, businesses, industries, and agencies.

(7) To receive and to consider reports and testimony from individuals, local health departments, community-based organizations, voluntary health organizations, and other public and private organizations statewide to learn more about their contributions to cervical cancer diagnosis, prevention, and treatment and more about their ideas for improving cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in Illinois.

(f) The Task Force shall submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly by April 1, 2005 and by April 1 of each year thereafter. The report shall include (i) information regarding the progress being made in fulfilling the duties of the Task Force and in developing the Cervical Cancer Prevention Plan and (ii) recommended strategies or actions to reduce the occurrence of cervical cancer and the burdens from cervical cancer suffered by citizens of this State.

(g) The Task Force shall expire on April 1, 2009, or upon submission of the Task Force's final report to the Governor and the General Assembly, whichever occurs earlier.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.