Rep. Mary Flowers

Expresses support for a State financial transaction tax law.

Appropriates $11,954,700 from the General Revenue Fund to the State Board of Education for the Parent-Guardian Transportation Reimbursement Program. Effective July 1, 2014.

Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, Counties Code, Illinois Municipal Code, Illinois Public Aid Code, and Illinois Insurance Code to provide that accident and health insurance policies and managed care plans shall cover all services ordered by a physician and provided in a hospital that are considered medically necessary. Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act. Includes limited health service organizations and voluntary health services plan in the definition of "insurance company". Requires every general hospital to provide patients who are placed into observation services by the general hospital with an oral and written notice within 24 hours after placement that the patient is not admitted to the hospital and is under observation status; specifies the information to be included in the notice. Effective immediately.

Creates the Public Health Insurance Option Act. Creates the Health Insurance Connector Authority (the Connector) as a body politic and corporate and a public instrumentality, which shall be an independent public entity not subject to the supervision and control of any other executive office, department, commission, board, bureau, agency, or political subdivision of the State, except as specifically provided in law. Provides that the Health Insurance Connector Authority shall provide for the offering a public health benefits plan (the public option) to eligible individuals and groups, in order to ensure choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high quality coverage throughout the State. Sets forth provisions concerning availability, the executive director of the Connector, reporting, premium rates, payment rates, health care providers, and the creation of the Public Health Insurance Option Trust Fund. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Public Health Insurance Option Trust Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Authorizes the Director of Insurance to make an assessment against all health plans, health insurers, and health maintenance organizations in the State, as well as the public health insurance option established by the Public Health Insurance Option Act, if the actuarial risk of the enrollees of such plans or coverage for a year is less than the average actuarial risk of all enrollees in all risk-adjusted health plans. Makes other changes.

Urges Congress and the President to enact legislation that would reinstate the separation of commercial and investment banking functions in effect under the Glass-Steagall Act, prohibiting commercial banks and bank holding companies from investing in stocks, underwriting securities, or investing in or acting as guarantors to derivative transactions.

Urges the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to carefully evaluate and reconsider its actions to quickly move larger numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries into HMOs; and urges that the agency refocus its current preferences and give more favorable consideration to innovative, provider-based care coordination strategies; Accountable Care Entities should be utilized as important and valued alternatives to traditional HMOs.

Creates the Underserved Population Loan Program Act and Amends the State Finance Act. Creates an interest-free loan program, which shall be known as the Underserved Population Loan Program, to be administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to provide encouragement to, an opportunity for, and an incentive for qualified persons to pursue a baccalaureate degree at a public university. Requires the Commission to consider applications for participation in the Program each academic year. Sets forth eligibility requirements for participation in the Program, including requiring an applicant to have insufficient funds to pay for the costs of attending a public university. Requires the Commission to enter into a Program agreement with each Program participant; provides that prior to receiving a loan under the Program, a participant must sign the Program agreement; and sets forth what the participant must pledge to do. Contains provisions concerning the loans, the Underserved Population Loan Program Fund, and rules. Effective immediately.

Creates the Excellence in Academic Medicine Act of 2013 with provisions similar to those of the Excellence in Academic Medicine Act as it existed before its repeal by Public Act 97-689 and creates special funds in accordance with the new Act. Amends the State Finance Act. Removes provisions added by Public Act 97-691 concerning the maximum amounts of annual unpaid Medical Assistance bills that may be paid in total from future fiscal year Medical Assistance appropriations. Restores provisions concerning fiscal year limitations relating to payments for medical care as those provisions existed before the enactment of Public Act 97-691. Amends the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief Act by reinstituting the pharmaceutical assistance program that was eliminated by Public Act 97-689 and changing the short title to the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act. Amends various Acts by restoring various provisions concerning nursing home staffing requirements, the moratorium on the expansion of eligibility for medical assistance, rate reductions and payments for various Medicaid services, vendor enrollment, care coordination, and other matters as those provisions existed before the enactment of Public Acts 97-687 and 97-689. Repeals various provisions added by Public Act 97-689 concerning safety-net hospitals, the elimination and limitation of certain medical assistance services, medical assistance for medically fragile and technology dependent children, and other matters. Effective immediately.

Amends the State Employment Records Act; the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act; the State Construction Minority and Female Building Trades Act; the Dental Student Grant Act; the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Act; and the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Redefines the terms "minority", "minority person", "under-represented minority", and "racial minority" in the affected Acts to include all persons of Middle Eastern origin. Effective immediately.

In addition to funds already appropriated to the Department of Children and Family Services for Fiscal Year 2013, appropriates $90,000,000, or so much of that amount as may be necessary, to the Department for the purpose of restoring funding for Department programs and services to Fiscal Year 2012 levels. Effective immediately.