Rep. Mary Flowers

Designates the Balmoral Avenue Bridge over Interstate 294 as the "Donald Stephens Memorial Bridge".

Declares the State of Illinois should take the lead on issues of Pan-Africanism, citizenship in Africa, and reparatory justice, and the State should champion the Eighth Pan-African Congress Part 1 (8PAC1) and its agenda to develop a continental-wide diaspora citizenship plan, establish the African Diaspora as the 6th Region of the African Union (AU), and determine a permanent headquarters for the 6th Region. Calls upon the State to immediately, through its African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC), provide matrilineal and patrilineal DNA testing through African ancestry to determine the ancestral lineages and territories of origin of its Black residents so that they can seek citizenship in their ancestral homelands, if so desired. Calls upon the State to become the first to conduct a repatriation census in preparation for honoring President Abraham Lincoln's desire for voluntary repatriation with compensation and to make conducting the repatriation census its immediate priority.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Extends medical assistance coverage to all women of childbearing age regardless of income level.

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 women's health clinics throughout the State to provide affordable health care for women. Requires the services provided at the women's health clinics to be offered at an affordable price and to include specified services, including women's health examinations, pregnancy confirmation, prenatal care, labor and delivery services, postpartum care, family planning examinations and birth control services, and care for sexually transmitted diseases and infections.

Amends the University of Illinois Hospital Act and the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that before using any diagnostic algorithm to diagnose a patient, a hospital must first confirm that the diagnostic algorithm has been certified by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Innovation and Technology, has been shown to achieve as or more accurate diagnostic results than other diagnostic means, and is not the only method of diagnosis available to a patient. Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act. Provides that a patient has the right to be told when a diagnostic algorithm will be used to diagnose him or her. Provides that before a diagnostic algorithm is used to diagnose a patient, the patient must first be presented with the option of being diagnosed without the diagnostic algorithm and consent to the diagnostic algorithm's use.

Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Provides that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the Chicago Board of Education shall require the top 20% of the lowest performing schools in the school district, as determined by the Board, to employ a school nurse in conformance with certain provisions of the Code concerning school nurses. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that, to address maternal mental health conditions and reduce the incidence of maternal mortality and morbidity and postpartum depression, pregnant women eligible to receive medical assistance shall receive coverage for prenatal and postnatal support services during pregnancy and during the 5-year period beginning on the last day of the pregnancy. Provides that prenatal and postnatal support services covered under the medical assistance program include, but are not limited to, services provided by doulas, lactation counselors, labor assistants, childbirth educators, community mental health centers or behavioral clinics, social workers, and public health nurses as well as any other evidence-based mental health and social care services that are designed to screen, identify, and manage maternal mental disorders. Permits the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to consult with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health to establish a program of services consistent with the purposes of the amendatory Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to apply for any federal waiver or State Plan amendment required to implement the provisions of the amendatory Act. Requires the Department to adopt rules, upon federal approval, on certification or licensing requirements for providers of prenatal and postnatal support services and rules to provide medical assistance reimbursement for such services.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall transition pharmacy services for managed care enrollees from the State's managed care medical assistance program back to the State's traditional fee-for-service program, thereby assuming direct responsibility for all pharmacy services provided under the Article. Provides that the transition back to a fee-for-service reimbursement model for pharmacy services shall be implemented by the Department upon the expiration of any managed care contracts the Department has with managed care organizations on the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that, to ensure managed care enrollees do not experience an interruption in pharmacy services during the transition from managed care to fee-for-service coverage, the Department must, at a minimum, do the following: add an additional pharmacist to its staff; stress-test its existing claims processing system; increase its capacity for prior authorizations; and educate the public and its help desk staff about the change in coverage for pharmacy services. Grants the Department rulemaking authority. Repeals a provision that permits the Department to enter into a contract with a third party on a fee-for-service reimbursement model for the purpose of administering pharmacy benefits for recipients not enrolled in a Medicaid managed care organization. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Extends medical assistance coverage to all women of childbearing age regardless of income level. Requires a hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act or organized under the University of Illinois Hospital Act to complete and submit an application for medical assistance on behalf of every uninsured woman of childbearing age who is admitted to the hospital for inpatient or outpatient services. Provides that upon receipt of an application for medical assistance for a woman of childbearing age, the Department of Human Services shall as soon as practicable enroll the woman into the medical assistance program. Grants the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services rulemaking authority to implement the amendatory Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to apply for any federal waivers or State Plan amendments, if required, to implement the amendatory Act. Provides that implementation is contingent on federal approval. Effective immediately.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services, to update its eligibility verification and enrollment processing system to allow for the automatic enrollment of all eligible uninsured childless adults into the medical assistance program. Provides that under the updated processing system, hospitals, community-based organizations, and other entities approved by the Departments shall be authorized to screen and identify for medical assistance uninsured childless adults aged 19 or older, but younger than 65, who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for medical assistance. Provides that a hospital, community-based organization, or other approved entity shall inform a Medicaid-eligible uninsured childless adult that the adult is presumptively eligible for medical assistance and offer to submit an electronic application for medical assistance on the adult's behalf. Requires the electronic application to be no longer than 2 pages in length as prescribed by the Department of Human Services. Requires the Department of Human Services to designate staff to receive and review completed electronic applications for medical assistance from hospitals, community-based organizations, or other approved entities. Requires the designated staff to verify, as soon as practical, the uninsured childless adult's eligibility for medical assistance based on the information provided in the adult's completed electronic application and without requesting additional information or attestations from the uninsured childless adult. Provides that the uninsured childless adult shall be enrolled in the medical assistance program upon verification of eligibility. Grants the Departments rulemaking authority. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to apply for any federal waivers or approvals necessary to implement the amendatory Act. Provides that implementation is subject to federal approval.