Healthcare

Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Changes the repeal date of the Illinois Dental Practice Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2036. Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. In the definition of "branches of dentistry", adds oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental public health, oral medicine, and orofacial pain to the included specialties. Creates a temporary dental hygiene license for dental students who meet certain requirements. Provides that a licensee holding a temporary dental hygiene license must practice under the supervision of a dentist. Provides that the temporary dental hygiene license is active for one year from its issuance date. Changes the implementation deadline for an order regarding the services that are necessary to be performed on a patient who is in a State or federal prison and who cannot travel to a dental office to 180 days of the order's issuance (rather than 45 days of the order's issuance). Removes language providing that provisions concerning public health dentistry are inoperative on and after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires hospitals and birthing centers to adopt and maintain written policies and procedures authorizing a patient enrolled in the medical assistance program to select an Illinois Medicaid certified and enrolled doula of the patient's choice to accompany the patient within the facility's premises for the purposes of providing support before, during, and after labor and childbirth, and during the patient's entire postpartum stay. Provides that the doula shall be considered part of the patient's care team and shall not be counted as a support person or against any guest quota. Requires hospitals and birthing centers to provide a written copy of their policies and procedures to maternity patients, the facilities' maternity health care providers, and any other person at the patient's request. Requires publication of the written policies on each facility's website. Contains provisions concerning hospital and birthing center liaisons and doulas certification acknowledgment requirements. Permits the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Public Health to establish standing recommendations to meet Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requirements and ensure access to preventive services, including Medicaid-covered maternal and reproductive health supports and services.

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 all medically necessary diagnostic testing and U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments or medications prescribed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease or another related dementia, in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration label, as determined by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches. Provides that coverage of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments or medications prescribed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease or another related dementia shall not be subject to step therapy. Amends the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act to require coverage under those provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. In a provision prohibiting prior authorization mandates and utilization management controls under the fee-for-service and managed care medical assistance programs for FDA-approved prescription drugs that treat mental illness, requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and managed care organizations to report quarterly on compliance with the specified prohibitions beginning with dates of service on and after July 1, 2025. Requires the Department to post on its website a report on fee-for-service prescriptions and the reports from each managed care organization. Sets forth the information that must be contained in the quarterly reports, including, but not limited to: (i) the number of denied prescriptions and estimated net cost to the State for those covered prescriptions summarized by each of the allowed categories specified in the Code; (ii) the number of denied prescriptions and estimated net cost to the State for those prescriptions summarized by each of the non-allowed categories specified in the Code; and (iii) the number of denied prescriptions and estimated gross cost to the State for those prescriptions summarized by any other reason not specified in the Code. Requires the Department to sanction those managed care organizations that do not file the required reports. Effective immediately.

Amends the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act. In provisions concerning opioid overdose reporting, provides that overdose information reported by a covered vehicle service provider shall not be used in an opioid use-related criminal investigation, prosecution, welfare checks, or warrant checks of the individual who was treated by the covered vehicle service provider personnel for experiencing the suspected or actual overdose. Provides that any misuse of the information reported by a covered vehicle service provider shall result in, but is not limited to, the Department of Transportation reporting misuse to the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Overdose Detection Mapping Application or similar technology platform. Permits the Department of Health to adopt rules to set forth standards under which misuse of access may be reported to the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Overdose Detection Map or similar platform based on misuse or misconduct by a covered vehicle service provider or other individual or entity at the discretion of the Department. Provides that no data that allows for or creates a risk of identification of an individual or individuals experiencing a suspected or actual overdose treated by the covered vehicle service provider personnel shall be submitted to the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Overdose Detection Mapping Application or Similar technology platform. Provides that covered vehicle service provider personnel may report overdose surveillance through an identified technology platform for the use of overdose surveillance under exceptions to HIPAA and the reported data shall only be used to support public safety and public health efforts. Sets forth additional provisions concerning requirements for the Department concerning opioid overdose reporting.

Creates the Mental Health Professional Career Scholarship Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create the Mental Health Professional Career Scholarship Program to award scholarships to Illinois students pursuing a mental health professional career in order to increase diversity rates by recruiting individuals to work in mental health fields in the public sector or mental health jobs that have a high demand for new employees and retain those individuals. Sets forth provisions concerning the selection of recipients, the amount of assistance, applications for assistance, the payment of assistance, administering the scholarship program, and rulemaking.

Amends the Burn Victims Relief Act. Dissolves the George Bailey Memorial Fund on June 30, 2025, or as soon thereafter as practical, and assigns any future deposits due to that Fund to the General Revenue Fund. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Requires every company licensed to do business in this State that is transacting the kind or kinds of business under Class 1, 2, or 3, as defined in the Code, to establish a customer affairs and information department to respond to policyholder inquiries and complaints. In provisions concerning kinds of agreements requiring approval, provides that the Director of Insurance has the right to request additional filing review and approval of all contracts that contribute to the statutory threshold trigger. Removes provisions concerning a working group related to the treatment and coverage of mental, emotional, nervous, or substance use disorders. Makes other changes. Amends the Dental Care Patient Protection Act. Makes changes concerning preemption of provisions. Amends the Health Maintenance Organization Act. Provides that health maintenance organizations are subject to provisions of the Illinois Insurance Code requiring coverage for certain at-home pregnancy tests and certain medically necessary treatments to address a major injury to the jaw. Amends the Network Adequacy and Transparency Act to make technical and combining changes to conform the changes made by Public Act 103-777 and 103-650. Amends the Limited Health Service Organization Act to make conforming changes. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Changes the definition of "insurance company". Effective immediately, except that certain changes to the Illinois Insurance Code are effective January 1, 2026 and certain other changes to the Illinois Insurance Code are effective 60 days after becoming law.