Sen. Mattie Hunter

Creates the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a Medicaid Technical Assistance Center (Center). Provides that the Center shall operate as a cross-system educational resource to strengthen the business infrastructure of health care provider organizations in Illinois to ultimately increase the capacity, access, health equity, and quality of Illinois' Medicaid managed care programs: HealthChoice Illinois and YouthCare. Requires the Center to be established within the Department's Office of Medicaid Innovation. Requires the Center to collaborate with public and private partners throughout the State to identify, establish, and maintain best practices necessary for health providers to ensure their capacity to participate in HealthChoice Illinois or YouthCare. Requires the Center to: (i) create and administer ongoing trainings for health care providers; (ii) maintain an independent, easy to navigate, and up-to-date website; and (iii) host regional learning collaboratives that will supplement the Center's training curriculum to bring together groups of stakeholders to share issues and best practices, and to escalate issues. Requires the Department to maximize federal financial participation for any moneys appropriated to the Department for the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. Provides that any federal financial participation funds obtained shall be used for the further development and expansion of the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center. Amends the State Finance Act. Creates the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center Fund. Effective immediately.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that a person also commits aggravated battery when, in committing a battery, other than by the discharge of a firearm, he or she: (1) knowingly causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual whom the person knows to be a Department of Children and Family Services employee; and (2) is, at the time of the commission of the offense, 21 years of age or older and causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an individual whom the person knows to be a Department of Children and Family Services employee: (i) performing his or her official duties; (ii) battered to prevent performance of his or her official duties; or (iii) battered in retaliation for performing his or her official duties. Provides that "Department of Children and Family Services employee" includes any Department employee or a worker, case worker, or investigator employed by an agency or organization providing social work, case work, or investigative services under a contract with or a grant from the Department of Children and Family Services. Provides that a violation is a Class 2 felony. Provides that if the battery causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to the employee, the penalty is a Class 1 felony. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes a redundant reference to a Department of Children and Family Services employee in the elements of the offense of aggravated battery. In the definition of "Department of Children and Family Services employee", deletes "employee or a worker". Deletes the effective date Section.

Creates the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides requirements concerning disclosure and review of prior authorization requirements, denial of claims or coverage by a utilization review organization, and the implementation of prior authorization requirements or restrictions. Provides requirements concerning a utilization review organization's obligations with respect to prior authorizations in nonurgent circumstances, urgent health care services, and emergency health care services. Provides that a utilization review organization shall not require prior authorization under specified circumstances. Provides requirements concerning the length of prior authorizations. Provides that health care services are automatically deemed authorized if a utilization review organization fails to comply with the requirements of the Act. Provides that the Director of Insurance may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $250,000 for violations of the Act. Defines terms. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code to change the definition of "emergency medical condition". Amends the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act to provide that companies that transact accident and health insurance shall comply with specified requirements of the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code to provide that all managed care organizations shall comply with the requirements of the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2022.

Amends the Illinois Identification Card Act. Provides that Illinois Identification Cards issued to persons upon conditional release or absolute discharge from the custody of the Department of Human Services be issued prior to release or discharge (instead of no sooner than 14 days prior to release or discharge). Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that applicants for school bus driver permits and commercial driver's licenses must not have been convicted of (i) aggravated domestic battery, or (ii) specified offenses under the Liquor Control Act of 1934 within the last 20 years before the date of the application (rather than at any point in the applicant's past). Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that a subsection concerning required proof of financial responsibility does not apply to a person who, at the time of the offense, was operating a motor vehicle registered in a state other than Illinois. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Appropriates $ 250,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, from the State Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Fund to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the purposes of the Hotel Jobs Recovery Grant Program, as allowed under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and any associated federal guidance. Effective July 1, 2022.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Declares that all changes to the existing nursing facility direct care reimbursement rate methodologies and to the bed assessment and collection procedures must be approached with caution, executed deliberately, and held to the highest of standards in order to protect nursing facility residents from disruption in care, protect workers from lost wages and jobs, and protect providers from the increased instability within the industry. Provides that a Nursing Facility Oversight Committee (Committee) shall be named by the 4 legislative leaders to oversee, assess, and provide direction to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services as it relates to long term care services. Contains provisions on the Committee's composition, meetings, proxy voting, and other matters. Requires the Department to seek the advice and consent of the Committee prior to filing emergency or permanent administrative rules with the Secretary of State or submitting Medicaid State Plan amendments and all correspondence to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Requires the Department to prepare transition plans for the redesign of the direct care reimbursement rate methodologies and the assessment tax schedule and collection proceedings. Contains provisions concerning advanced notice to nursing facilities of all payment, award, and rate changes; a quarterly direct care per diem reimbursement rate for each nursing facility; direct care reimbursement rate components subject to redesign; establishment of a single quarterly non-Medicare occupied bed varied tax assessment; State Plan amendments to permit expedited implementation of the redesigned bed assessment; compliance requirements for managed care organizations; penalties for non-compliance; and other matters. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Repeals a Section providing authority to use automated traffic law enforcement systems at intersections in which cameras are used to photograph or video record a motor vehicle's failure to stop and yield as required by traffic control signals. Imposes limits on the power of local governments to use automated speed enforcement systems to provide recorded images of a motor vehicle for the purpose of recording its speed. Denies home rule powers. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement from the State. Makes other changes.

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that, for the purpose of removing barriers to the timely treatment of serious mental illnesses, prior authorization mandates and utilization management controls shall not be imposed under the fee-for-service and managed care medical assistance programs on any FDA approved prescription drug that is recognized by a generally accepted standard medical reference as effective in the treatment of conditions specified in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that, for the purpose of removing barriers to the timely treatment of serious mental illnesses, insurance cost containment prior authorization mandates and insurance utilization management controls shall not be imposed under the fee-for-service and managed care medical assistance programs on any FDA approved prescription drug that is recognized by a generally accepted standard medical reference as effective in the treatment of conditions specified in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that if a generic equivalent for a brand name drug is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, plans that provide coverage for prescription drugs through the use of a drug formulary that are amended, delivered, issued, or renewed in the State on or after January 1, 2022 shall comply with specified requirements. Provides that the Department of Insurance may adopt rules to implement provisions concerning notice of change of drug formulary. In provisions concerning a contract between a health insurer and a pharmacy benefit manager, provides that a pharmacy benefit manager must update and publish maximum allowable cost pricing information according to specified requirements, must provide a reasonable administrative appeal procedure to allow pharmacies to challenge maximum allowable costs, and must comply with specified requirements if an appeal is denied. Sets forth provisions concerning pharmacy benefit manager contracts; specified requirements that a pharmacy benefit manager shall comply with; specified requirements that an auditing entity shall comply with when conducting a pharmacy audit; and specified requirements concerning pharmacy network access standards. Provides that a violation of specified provisions is an unfair method of competition and unfair and deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance. Sets forth provisions concerning applicability of the Pharmacy Benefit Managers Article of the Illinois Insurance Code, and provisions concerning fiduciary responsibility of a pharmacy benefit manager. Defines terms. Makes other changes. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Sets forth provisions concerning reimbursement of professional dispensing fees and acquisition costs for pharmacy providers. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 215 ILCS 5/513b7 new 215 ILCS 5/513b8 new 215 ILCS 124/35 new Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Provides that a pharmacy may not be subject to a chargeback or recoupment for a clerical or recordkeeping error in a required document or record unless the pharmacy benefit manager can provide proof of intent to commit fraud or such error results in actual financial harm to the pharmacy benefit manager, a health plan managed by the pharmacy benefit manager, or a consumer. Removes various provisions concerning pharmacy benefit manager contracts. Defines "spread pricing". Removes various definitions. Amends the Network Adequacy and Transparency Act. In provisions concerning pharmacy payments under the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code, provides that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services may reimburse a pharmacy owned by an entity participating in the federal Drug Pricing Program under the federal Public Health Service Act, for drugs purchased under the Program, an amount equal to or greater than the ceiling price calculated under the federal Act. Provides that all Medicaid managed care organizations must reimburse a pharmacy participating in the federal Drug Pricing Program, for drugs purchased under the Program, an amount equal to or greater than the current national average drug acquisition cost listing for the pharmaceutical product. Provides that the Department, a Medicaid managed care organization, and a pharmacy benefit manager under contract with a Medicaid managed care provider to reimburse pharmacy providers shall not prohibit any entity or pharmacy participating in the federal Drug Pricing Program from using drugs purchased under the federal Act when submitting claims for pharmaceutical reimbursement. Makes other changes.

Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934. Adds provisions concerning: first class wine-manufacturers, first-class wine-makers, and second-class wine-makers that manufacture beer or spirits; class 1 craft distillers and class 2 craft distillers that manufacture wine or beer; and class 1 brewers and class 2 brewers that manufacture wine or spirits. Prohibits self-distribution exemption holders from being affiliated with a group that produces certain quantities of beer, wine, or spirits (instead of any other alcoholic liquor). Creates the brewery shipper's license and the distillery shipper's license to allow certain licensees to ship beer or spirits. Contains provisions concerning licensing fees; application for a license; recordkeeping; and taxation. Limits home rule powers to regulate the delivery of alcoholic liquor. Removes language providing that any retail license issued to a manufacturer shall only permit the manufacturer to sell beer at retail on the premises actually occupied by the manufacturer. Provides that a brew pub licensee may sell no more than 6,200 gallons of beer per year to retail licensees within a 10-mile radius of the licensed premises if the premises are in a city with a population of more than 1,000,000 or within a 50-mile radius of the licensed premises if the premises are in a city with a population of 1,000,000 or less. Deletes a provision specifying that the sale of beer at retail by a brew pub must be in-person. Adds provisions authorizing delivery and carry out of mixed drinks by class 1 craft distillers, wine-maker's premises, brew pubs, and distilling pubs. Removes language repealing the provision concerning delivery and carry out of mixed drinks on June 2, 2021. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.