Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

Creates the Human Services Equitable Pay Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to commission a Human Services Compensation Study on the rate of compensation, including wages and benefits, of positions funded by the Department of Human Services and how they compare to similar positions in the human services sector in Illinois and nationally. Requires the study to include an analysis of wage and benefit levels in different settings and for different education levels, including a comparison of compensation for: (1) State employees; (2) human service providers; and (3) for-profit private sector employees with similar roles and titles. Requires the study to be completed and submitted to the Human Services Compensation Task Force by June 30, 2026. Requires the Department to establish the Human Services Compensation Task Force on or before December 31, 2025. Provides that members shall be appointed by the Governor and shall include at least 3 BIPOC executive directors of community-based human service organizations and 2 co-chairs. Requires the Task Force to provide, on or before December 1, 2026, a report to the General Assembly and the Governor's Office of Management and Budget that includes: (i) recommendations on how to strengthen recruitment and retention of human services workers employed by human services providers that have contracts with the State; (ii) recommended rate levels; and (iii) a proposed schedule to increase rates to the recommended rate levels by July 1, 2030. Requires the Department to submit annual reports to the Task Force and the General Assembly that includes salary disparities between professionals employed by human services providers in the Department and comparable employees contracted with the State agency for the delivery of human services, the amount needed to be annually appropriated to the Department in order to reduce such salary disparities, and other matters. Effective immediately.

Amends the Behavior Analyst Licensing Act, the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act, the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act, the Marriage and Family Therapy Licensing Act, the Medical Practice Act of 1987, the Licensed Certified Professional Midwife Practice Act, the Nurse Practice Act, the Pharmacy Practice Act, the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987, the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing and Practice Act, the Wholesale Drug Distribution Licensing Act, the Registered Surgical Assistant and Registered Surgical Technologist Title Protection Act, and the Genetic Counselor Licensing Act. Provides that the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation shall not take any disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a person's authorization to practice (rather than against the license or permit issued) under each of the amended Acts based solely upon the person's involvement in any health care service, so long as the care was not unlawful under the laws of the State. Prohibits the Department from taking any disciplinary or non-disciplinary action against a person's authorization to practice (rather than against the license or permit issued) under each of the amended Acts based upon the person's license, registration, or permit (rather than only license) being revoked or suspended, or the person being otherwise disciplined by any other state, if that form of discipline was based solely on the person violating another state's laws prohibiting involvement in any health care service if that health care service would not have been unlawful under the laws of the State and is consistent with the applicable standard of conduct for a person practicing in Illinois under those Acts. Changes certain references to official occupation titles in the amended Acts to "person". Amends the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Provides that a drug's status as not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shall not cause it to be deemed an adulterated drug if its safety and efficacy have been established by peer-reviewed research or if it is recommended for use by the World Health Organization, even if the drug's labelling reflects prior approval that is no longer in effect, so long as such labelling was true and accurate at the time of manufacture.

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 Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act. Provides that the expert panel designated by the board of trustees to develop and implement policies and procedures shall be comprised of at least 2 administrators, 2 members of faculty, and one mental health professional. Requires each public college or university to provide at least 3 on-site licensed clinical professional counselors or licensed clinical social workers.

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 Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act. Provides that a health care plan shall provide annually to enrollees and prospective enrollees, upon request, a statement of all basic health care services and all specific benefits and services mandated to be provided to enrollees by State law or administrative rule, highlighting any newly enacted State law or administrative rule. Provides that this requirement can be fulfilled by providing enrollees the most up-to-date accident and health checklist submitted to the Department of Insurance, reflecting statutory health care coverage compliance by the health care plan. Requires the Office of Consumer Health Insurance to post in a prominent location on the Department's publicly accessible website an annual report on the development and implementation of federal, State, and local laws, regulations, and other governmental policies and actions that pertain to the adequacy of health care plans, facilities, and services in the State and summary of all State health insurance benefit related legislation enacted in the prior calendar year that includes, at minimum, a link to the Public Act, the statutory citation, the subject, a brief summary, and the effective date. Amends the Uniform Health Care Services Benefit Information Card Act. Adds a health benefit plan offering dental coverage to the list of plans required to issue a health care benefit information card. Specifies health care benefit information cards may be electronic or physical. Requires uniform health care benefit information to display on the back of the card a statement indicating whether the plan is self-insured or fully funded and if the plan is subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance. Makes other changes.

Amends the Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act. Provides that crime victims have the right to be treated with fairness and respect during the investigatory process, including the right to be free from deception and free from the knowing communication of false facts about evidence during interviews and conversations with law enforcement.

Creates the Hospitals and Homelessness Support Act. Requires the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness within the Department of Human Services to maintain on its publicly accessible website information on how a hospital or healthcare system may connect a patient experiencing homelessness or otherwise in a vulnerable housing situation with shelter and homeless support services for each continuum of care in the State. Requires the Department to ensure that the information required includes, for each continuum of care, any phone number, email address, physical address, primary agencies, or any other information that may be necessary for a person in that continuum of care territory to begin accessing shelter or other homelessness services. Requires the Department to include, where possible, a specific phone number that a hospital or health care facility may call and specific language to use. Requires the Department to also include on its website a way for the hospital or healthcare system to determine which continuum of care applies based on the physical location of the hospital or healthcare system. Requires other information, all of which must be added to the Department's website by October 31, 2025. Contains provisions concerning annual audits.

Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Eddie Thomas Act. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that no later than December 1 of each year, the Department of Corrections shall prepare a report to be published on its website that contains, at a minimum, the following information about hospice and palliative care in its institutions and facilities during the prior fiscal year: (1) demographic data of committed persons who received hospice and palliative care; (2) data on the number of committed persons in the Department's hospice and palliative care programs; (3) data on the timing of hospice and palliative care programming; (4) the number of committed persons in the custody of the Department who died; (5) policies and administrative directives of each Department institution and facility regarding the institution of hospice and palliative care; (6) the staff available for hospice and palliative care; and (7) the cost of the Department's hospice and palliative care programs. Provides that all such data shall be anonymized to protect the privacy of the committed persons involved in the hospice and palliative care programs.

Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that any authorized employee (instead of an advanced practice registered nurse, practical nurse, registered nurse, or physician) of an organization that provides hospice services to a hospice patient or that provides home health services to a person may receive a patient's prescription orders, including controlled substances, and deliver the prescription orders to the patient.