Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice to offer to consumers at retail a rebate made on a stored-value card that charges dormancy fees or other post-issuance fees. Defines terms.
Creates the Health Insurance Rate Review Act. Creates the independent quasi-judicial Health Insurance Rate Review Board to ensure insurance rates are reasonable and justified. Sets forth duties and prohibited activities concerning the Board. Creates the Health Insurance Rate Review Board Nomination Panel to provide a list of nominees to the Governor for appointment to the Health Insurance Rate Review Board. Sets forth the procedures for nomination. Provides requirements and procedures for health carriers to file current and proposed rates and rate schedules with the Health Insurance Rate Review Board. Provides that the Board shall review and approve or disapprove all rates and rate schedules filed or used by a health carrier. Sets forth provisions concerning rate standards, public notice, hearings, and the disapproval and approval of rates and rate schedules.
Amends the Equal Pay Act of 2003. Prohibits an employer from: (i) screening job applicants based on their wage or salary history, (ii) requiring that an applicant's prior wages satisfy minimum or maximum criteria, and (iii) requesting or requiring as a condition of being interviewed or as a condition of continuing to be considered for an offer of employment that an applicant disclose prior wages or salary. Prohibits an employer from seeking the salary, including benefits or other compensation or salary history, of a job applicant from any current or former employer, with some exceptions. Limits defenses. Provides for penalties and injunctive relief.
Amends the Illinois Insurance Code to provide that a policy of accident or health insurance shall provide coverage for medically necessary expenses for standard fertility preservation services when a necessary medical treatment may directly or indirectly cause iatrogenic infertility to an enrollee. Defines "iatrogenic infertility". Provides that in determining coverage for these expenses, an insurer shall not discriminate based on an individual's expected length of life, present or predicted disability, degree of medical dependency, quality of life, or other health conditions, nor based on personal characteristics, including age, sex, sexual orientation, or marital status. Makes conforming changes in 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.
Amends the Enforcement Title of the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that the Environmental Protection Agency shall cause investigations to be made as a result of the Agency's own investigation or knowledge. Provides that in all cases in which an alleged violation may have a continuing effect on the environment, the Agency shall promptly notify the Attorney General and the State's Attorney for the county in which the alleged violation is occurring. Provides that in all cases the Agency shall refer to the Attorney General and the State's Attorney of the county in which the alleged violation occurred information regarding the violation if a violation is continuing to occur or a penalty for past violations may be appropriate. Makes corresponding and other changes. Effective immediately.
Amends the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act. In provisions concerning transition of services, provides that the health care plan shall not modify an enrollee's coverage of a drug during the plan year if the drug has been previously approved for coverage by the plan for a medical condition, the plan's prescribing provider continues to prescribe the drug for the medical condition, and the patient continues to be an enrollee of the health care plan. Provides specific prohibited modifications of drug coverage in the health plan. Provides that the provisions do not prohibit a health care plan from requiring a pharmacist to effect generic substitutions of prescription drugs. Provides that the provisions do not prohibit the addition of prescription drugs to a health care plan's list of covered drugs during the coverage year. Provides that the provisions do not apply to a health care plan as defined in the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 or medical assistance under the Illinois Public Aid Code. Effective immediately.
Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971. Provides that interest penalties that may be payable under the Act, as provided under specified Sections of the Illinois Insurance Code, shall be paid from a separate appropriation from each fund for such purpose and for each appropriated agency. Amends the State Budget Law. Provides that for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the budget shall include a separate line item request appropriating moneys to each State agency for estimated costs for each fund under the State Prompt Payment Act and specified Sections of the Illinois Insurance Code. Amends the State Finance Act. Provides that the sum of transfers among line item appropriations for an agency in a fiscal year shall not exceed 2% of the aggregate amount appropriated to it within the same treasury fund for, among other objects, late interest penalties under the State Prompt Payment Act and specified Sections of the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that if lump sum appropriations are enacted with a separate line item for late interest penalties under the State Prompt Payment Act and the Illinois Insurance Code, the 2% transfer authority shall apply to the aggregate amount of these appropriations. Amends the State Prompt Payment Act to provide that interest penalties that may be payable under the Act and under specified Sections of the Illinois Insurance Code shall be paid from a separate appropriation from each fund for such purpose and for each appropriated agency. Effective immediately.
Amends the State Prompt Payment Act. Codifies the Vendor Payment Program established under the Illinois Administrative Code. Provides that any contract executed under that Program prior to June 30, 2018 shall remain in effect until those contracts have expired, and that existing contracts shall comply with the additional reporting requirements of this amendatory Act. Provides for the authority, applicability, and requirements for participants and entities involved in the Program established under this amendatory Act. Provides disclosure requirements for vendors under the Program. Requires the Auditor General to perform an annual audit of the Program. Requires the Department of Central Management Services to disclose specified information on its Internet website. Defines terms. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
Creates the Bridge Program for Underrepresented Students Act. Defines terms. Provides that each public university in this State may establish a Bridge Program for underrepresented students. Specifies program requirements. Provides that a public university that establishes a Bridge Program shall, on or before September 1, 2019 and on or before September 1 of each subsequent year, publish on its website and make available to the public a report on the Program. Effective immediately.
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Makes post-secondary education tuition and fee waivers available to youth for whom the Department of Children and Family Services has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship agreement. Requires applicants to have earned a high school diploma from an accredited institution or a high school equivalency certificate or have met the State criteria for high school graduation before the start of the school year for which they are applying for the waivers. Limits the tuition and fee waivers to persons under the age of 26 and provides that waivers shall be available to a student for at least the first 5 years the student is enrolled in a community college, university, or college maintained by the State. Provides that the age requirement and 5-year cap on tuition and fee waivers shall be waived and eligibility extended for applicants or students who were unable to enroll in a qualifying post-secondary school or complete an academic term because the student: (i) was called into active duty with the United States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or (iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. Permits the Department to provide the student with a stipend to cover maintenance and school expenses during the academic years to supplement the student's earnings. Requires the Department to develop outreach programs to ensure qualifying youths are aware of the availability of the tuition and fee waivers.
