State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB2138

 
                                               LRB9104913JSpc

 1        AN ACT to create the Universal Health Care Plan 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    Universal Health Care Plan Act.

 6        Section 5.  Legislative findings.  The  General  Assembly
 7    recognizes   that  an  estimated  1,513,000  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.  Universal  health  care plan.  On or before
26    December 31, 2004, the State of Illinois  shall  implement  a
27    universal health care plan that does the following:
28             (1)  provides  universal  access  to a full range of
29        preventive, 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
 
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 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 by September 1, 1999.   The  Departments  of  State
21    government   represented   on   the   Commission  shall  work
22    cooperatively  to  provide  administrative  support  for  the
23    Commission.

24        Section 25.  Public hearings and preliminary report.
25        (a)  The  Commission  shall  seek  public  input  on  the
26    development of the universal health care 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 September 1, 1999, and  December 1, 2000.   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  universal
33    health care plan.
 
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 1        (b)  The  Commission shall submit a preliminary report on
 2    the status of the universal health care plan to  the  General
 3    Assembly  and  the Governor by no later than January 1, 2001.
 4    The preliminary report shall be based upon  the  meetings  of
 5    the  Commission  and  the public hearings and shall include a
 6    comparison analysis of proposals for  universal  health  care
 7    coverage.

 8        Section 30.  Public hearings and final report.  Following
 9    the  submission  of  its  preliminary  report, the Commission
10    shall  hold  10  additional  public  hearings  in   different
11    geographic  locations  in  the State, including urban, rural,
12    suburban, and small city sites to obtain public input in  the
13    development of the final universal health care plan.    These
14    hearings  shall  be held between January 2, 2001 and December
15    31, 2002.  The Commission shall also  ensure  that  residents
16    throughout  the  State  of  Illinois  are  informed about the
17    different plan proposals under  consideration  including  the
18    content of each of the plan proposals and the impact each may
19    have  on  the  quality  and  availability  of  health care in
20    Illinois.
21        No later than  January  1,  2003,  the  Commission  shall
22    submit  its final report on the universal health care plan to
23    the General Assembly and the Governor.  The final report  may
24    recommend  more than one type of plan and alternative methods
25    of  funding  the  plan.   The   final   report   shall   make
26    recommendations   that,  if  implemented,  provide  universal
27    access to a full range of preventive,  acute,  and  long-term
28    health care services to residents of the State of Illinois by
29    December 31, 2004, including:
30             (1)  an  integrated system or systems of health care
31        delivery;
32             (2)  incentives to be  used  to  contain  costs  and
33        direct resources;
 
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 1             (3)  uniform  benefits  that would be provided under
 2        each type of plan;
 3             (4)  reimbursement  mechanisms   for   health   care
 4        providers;
 5             (5)  administrative efficiencies;
 6             (6)  mechanisms  for  generating spending priorities
 7        based on multidisciplinary standards of care  established
 8        by  verifiable  replicated research studies demonstrating
 9        quality  and   cost   effectiveness   of   interventions,
10        providers, and facilities;
11             (7)  mechanisms  for  applying  and implementing the
12        unified health care budget on a statewide  basis  to  all
13        sectors of the health care system;
14             (8)  methods  for  reducing the cost of prescription
15        drugs  both  as  part  of,  and  as  separate  from,  the
16        universal health care plan;
17             (9)  appropriate  reallocation  of  existing  health
18        care resources;
19             (10)  equitable financing of each proposal; and
20             (11)  recommendations  concerning  the  delivery  of
21        long-term care services, including:
22                  (A)  those currently covered under Title XIX of
23             the Social Security Act;
24                  (B)  recommendations on potential cost  sharing
25             arrangements  for  long-term  care  services and the
26             phasing in of such arrangements over time;
27                  (C)  consideration   of   the   potential   for
28             utilizing informal care-giving by friends and family
29             members;
30                  (D)  recommendations    on     cost-containment
31             strategies for long-term care services;
32                  (E)  the   possibility   of  using  independent
33             financing  for  the  provision  of  long-term   care
34             services; and
 
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 1                  (F)  the   projected   cost  to  the  State  of
 2             Illinois over the next 20 years if no  changes  were
 3             made  in the present system of delivering and paying
 4             for long-term care services.
 5        The final report shall also  include  findings  from  the
 6    public  hearings  held  by  the Commission between January 2,
 7    2001, and December 31, 2002.   In  addition,  the  Commission
 8    shall  present in its final report the range of services that
 9    would be available under each plan proposal if there were  to
10    be  no  increase, beyond inflation, in the total gross health
11    care expenditures in Illinois as determined by the Commission
12    for the first year that the universal health care plan  would
13    be  in  effect.   The  plan  proposals shall also address any
14    anticipated or actual changes in federal  policies  regarding
15    the  availability  and  cost  of health care and assess their
16    adequacy for achieving the goals of this Act.  The Commission
17    shall consult  with  the  Illinois  Department  on  Aging  in
18    developing its recommendations on long-term care services.

19        Section  35.  Effective Date.  This Act takes effect upon
20    becoming law.

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