Healthcare

Creates the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression in Long-Term Care Bill of Rights Act. Establishes rights for a client who lives in a long-term care facility, or who receives home care services from a home care provider, from discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, actual or perceived gender identity, actual or perceived gender expression, or actual or perceived HIV status. Provides that an aggrieved person may enforce violations of the Act against a long-term care facility or a home care provider and the staff of the long-term care facility or home care provider through a civil action. Sets forth provisions concerning gender identity in client records; required training for all long-term care facilities and home care providers; arbitration agreements; interpretation of the Act; and enforcement of rights, including civil penalties and other administrative actions. Amends the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the Nursing Home Care Act, and the Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act to require compliance with the Sexual orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression in Long-Term Care Bill of Rights Act. Amends the Adult Protective Services Act to include intentional misgendering and unlawful discrimination in the definition of "abuse".

Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Public Health to establish the Abortion Access Fund Grant Program to award grants from the Abortion Access Fund to support access to abortion care services throughout the State. Provides that grants awarded under the Program shall only be used to fund abortion services for which the use of federal funds is prohibited for patients who are uninsured or underinsured with respect to those services. Allows the Department to establish rules necessary to implement the Abortion Access Fund Grant Program, including eligibility criteria, grant limits, application standards, requirements for the distribution and obligation of grant funds, accounting for the use of the funds, and standards for monitoring compliance with the requirements of the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Abortion Access Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Amends the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange Law. Requires specified health insurance issuers that have offered one or more qualified health plans through the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange to report to the Department of Insurance an accounting of receipts, disbursements, transfers of funds between accounts, total dollar claims paid, accrued interest, and the year-end balance for each reporting year for the separate allocation accounts that the issuer has established under specified provisions of federal law for abortion services for which federal funding is prohibited. Establishes further reporting requirements for health insurance issuers. Provides that, if the amount of premiums collected during the plan year for abortion services for which federal funding is prohibited exceeds total claims paid for such services rendered during the plan year, the Director of Insurance shall order the health insurance issuer to transfer funds, and the issuer shall complete the transfer, to the Abortion Access Fund. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or a managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, shall provide coverage for medically necessary prescribed vitamins. Amends the State Employee Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act, and the Illinois Public Aid Code to require coverage under those provisions.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Establishes reimbursement rates for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services for all group or individual policies of accident and health insurance or managed care plans that are amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027 or for any contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer. Requires a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 or any contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer to cover certain medically necessary mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. Provides that, if the Department of Insurance determines that an insurer or a contracted third party administering the behavioral health benefits for the insurer has violated a provision concerning mental health and substance use parity, the Department shall by order assess a civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation. Excludes certain health care plans serving Medicaid populations who are enrolled under the Illinois Public Aid Code or under the Children's Health Insurance Program Act from provisions concerning mental health and substance use parity. Requires the Department to review the impact of the proposed mental health and substance abuse mandate on network adequacy for mental health and substance use disorder treatment and access to affordable mental health and substance use care. Permits the Department to examine out-of-network utilization and out-of-pocket costs for insureds for mental health and substance use treatment and services for all plans to compare with in-network utilization. Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, and the School Code to require coverage under those provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each public institution of higher education with student health services shall provide enrolled students with access to health care professionals authorized under State law to prescribe contraception. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, if the public institution of higher education's student health services includes a pharmacy, the pharmacy on campus shall dispense contraception to enrolled students who wish to fill their prescriptions at the university pharmacy. Provides that, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each public institution of higher education with student health services shall provide enrolled students with access to health care professionals authorized under State law to prescribe medication abortion. Provides that a public institution of higher education that dispenses medication abortion from the university pharmacy shall enter into a referral agreement with a tertiary care facility with obstetrics and gynecological services in the event of complication from medication abortion or suspected complicated pregnancy prior to dispensing medication abortion. Requires each public institution of higher education to report annually to the Board of Higher Education that policies under the provisions have been adopted. Requires the Board to post to its website annually each public institution of higher education's compliance with the policies under the provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act, the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act, the Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Act, the Music Therapy Licensing and Practice Act, and the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing and Practice Act. Allows an applicant for licensure under those Acts to temporarily practice under supervision while the applicant's application for licensure is pending under specified circumstances. Removes good moral character standards as qualification requirements for the licensing of social workers and music therapists. Creates procedures for placing a license on inactive status for social workers and professional counselors. Provides that the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation must allow reasonable exam accommodations for licensed marriage and family therapists and clinical psychologists whose primary language is not English if a test in the therapist's or psychologist's primary language is not available.

Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Provides that "practice of pharmacy" includes the assessment and consultation of patients and dispensing of contraceptives, including emergency contraception (rather than the dispensation of hormonal contraceptives). In provisions concerning the dispensation of contraceptives, changes the contraceptives dispensed to contraceptives, including emergency contraception (rather than hormonal contraceptives). Makes conforming changes. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the medical assistance program shall cover patient care services provided by a pharmacist for contraceptives, including emergency contraception (rather than hormonal contraceptives). Makes conforming changes.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that any group or individual policy of accident or health insurance or a managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed after January 1, 2027 shall provide coverage for laser hair removal if the procedure is prescribed medical treatment in accordance with generally accepted standards of medical care. Provides that the coverage shall apply to individuals with conditions including, but not limited to, body dysmorphia, hidradentis suppreativa, polycystic ovary syndrome, or other similar skin conditions. Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act, and the Illinois Public Aid code to require coverage under those provisions.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Excludes student health insurance coverage from a provision requiring group or individual policies of accident and health insurance that provide dependent coverage to make that dependent coverage available to the parent or stepparent of the insured if certain conditions are met. Effective immediately.

Amends the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services, in coordination with a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals, to establish and offer a voluntary training that will be recorded and made available on the Department's website to all hospital social workers, clinicians, and administrative staff to inform them of BEACON, a centralized resource for Illinois youth and families seeking services for behavioral health needs, with the goal of encouraging families to seek assistance through BEACON and the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Team. Provides that the training shall include how families and hospital staff can access BEACON, the process once a case is entered into BEACON, and State and community programs accessible through BEACON. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires a psychiatric hospital to contact a youth or the youth's parents, guardian, or caregiver about the BEACON portal (rather than the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program) prior to referring the youth to the Department of Children and Family Services because the youth was left at the psychiatric hospital beyond medical necessity. Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Team in the Office of the Governor and relevant stakeholders, to report its work and make available resource materials, including model policies and guidance informed by a phased approach to implementing universal mental health screening in schools. Requires the State Board of Education to report its work by September 1, 2026. Provides that mental health screenings shall be offered by school districts to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.