Amends the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act. Adds e-cigarettes and other vapor devices as one of the educational areas the Comprehensive Health Education Program must include. Effective immediately.
Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that through June 30, 2023 (instead of June 30, 2021), an annuitant may accept employment as a teacher without impairing his or her retirement status if that employment is not within the school year during which service was terminated and does not exceed 120 paid days or 600 paid hours in each school year. Makes a conforming change. Effective immediately.
Amends the Downstate Teacher Article of the Illinois Pension Code. In the provision defining "eligible employment" for the purpose of allowing a teacher to return to teaching in subject shortage areas without impairing his or her retirement status or retirement annuity, changes the ending date of the employment from no later than June 30, 2021 to no later than June 30, 2026. Removes language requiring a school to advertise its vacancies in the subject shortage area in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the school is located. Provides that certain requirements related to advertising the vacancy in the subject shortage area and searching for teachers legally qualified to fill those vacancies through the Illinois Education Job Bank shall not apply to a school district replacing a teacher who is unable to continue employment with the school district because of illness, injury, or disability after being hired by a school district. Effective immediately. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. In the provision defining "eligible employment" for the purpose of allowing a teacher to return to teaching in subject shortage areas without impairing his or her retirement status or retirement annuity, changes the ending date of the employment from no later than June 30, 2021 to no later than June 30, 2024 (rather than June 30, 2026). Provides that before hiring a teacher under the provisions, the school district must post all vacancies on the school district's website and list the vacancy in an online job portal or database. Provides that a school district replacing a teacher who is unable to continue employment with the school district because of documented illness, injury, or disability that occurred after being hired by a school district shall be exempt from the job-posting requirements for 90 school days. Requires the school district to comply with the job-posting requirements on an ongoing basis. Effective immediately.
Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Requires the Department of Public Health to administer an annual survey, which shall be named the Healthy Illinois Survey. Provides that the Healthy Illinois Survey shall: (1) include interviews of a sample of State residents such that statistically reliable data for specified areas can be developed, as well as statistically reliable data on racial, ethnic, gender, age, and other demographic groups of State residents important to inform health equity goals; (2) be collected at the zip code level; and (3) include questions on a range of topics designed to establish an initial baseline public health data set and annual updates. Provides that, in developing the annual Healthy Illinois Survey, the Department shall consult with specified persons and entities with the goal of a comprehensive survey that will assist the State and other partners in developing the data to measure public health and health equity. Requires the Department to provide the results of the Healthy Illinois Survey in forms useful to cities, communities, local health departments, hospitals, and other potential users, including annually publishing on its website data at the most granular geographic and demographic levels possible while protecting identifying information. Requires the Department to produce periodic special reports and analyses relevant to ongoing and emerging health and social issues in communities and the State. House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adds reference to: 30 ILCS 500/1-10 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Provides that the identity, or any group of facts that tends to lead to the identity, of any person whose condition or treatment is submitted to the Healthy Illinois Survey is confidential and shall not be open to public inspection or dissemination and is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that information for specific research purposes may be released in accordance with procedures established by the Department. Amends the Illinois Procurement Code. Provides that the Code shall apply regardless of the source of funds with which contracts are paid, including federal assistance moneys. Provides that, except as specifically provided in the Code, the Code shall not apply to procurement expenditures necessary for the Department of Public Health to conduct the Healthy Illinois Survey.
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. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Changes references from "utilization review organization" to "health insurance issuer" or "health insurance issuer or its contracted utilization review organization". Provides that a health insurance issuer or its contracted utilization review organization must ensure that all adverse determinations are made by a physician when the request is by a physician or a representative of a physician. Provides that a health insurance issuer shall periodically review its prior authorization requirements and consider removal of prior authorization requirements in specified circumstances (rather than a utilization review organization shall not require prior authorization in specified circumstances). In provisions concerning length of prior authorization approval, provides that a prior authorization approval shall be valid for the lesser of 12 months after the date the health care professional or health care provider receives the prior authorization approval or the length of treatment as determined by the patient's health care professional. In provisions concerning clinical review criteria of prior authorization requirements, removes language that provides that a utilization review organization shall seek input from actively practicing physicians representing major areas of the specialty who are not employees of the utilization review organization or consultants to the utilization review organization before establishing or substantially or materially altering written clinical review criteria. Removes language that provides that a utilization review organization shall not deny prior authorization of a health care service solely based on the grounds that a health care professional or health care provider judges a service, product, or procedure is medically appropriate for his or her patient even if it has not been formally approved for the specific condition being treated. In provisions concerning statistics that shall be made available regarding prior authorization approvals and denials, removes specified categories of information. In provisions concerning requirements applicable to the physician who can review consultations and appeals, removes language that provides that the physician must not be employed by a utilization review organization, be under contract with the utilization review organization other than to participate in one or more of the utilization review organization's health care professional networks or to perform reviews of appeals, or otherwise have any financial interest in the outcome of the appeal. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2022. House Floor Amendment No. 2 Deletes reference to: 215 ILCS 134/65 Adds reference to: 215 ILCS 5/155.36 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill, and makes the following changes: In the Prior Authorization Reform Act, deletes a Section concerning obligations with respect to prior authorization concerning emergency health care services, and makes changes in provisions governing applicability; definitions; disclosure and review of prior authorization requirements; obligations with respect to prior authorizations; personnel qualified to make adverse determinations of a prior authorization request; adverse determinations; review of appeals; denials; length of prior authorization approval; continuity of care; effect of failure to comply with the Act; and administration and enforcement. Makes further changes in the Illinois Insurance Code in a Section concerning obligations under the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act. Deletes changes made to the Managed Care Reform and Patient Rights Act in a Section concerning emergency services prior to stabilization. Effective January 1, 2022.
Amends the School Code. Provides that a pupil shall be excused from engaging in a physical education course during a period of religious fasting if the pupil's parent or guardian notifies the school principal in writing that the pupil is participating in religious fasting. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Provides that a pupil shall be excused from engaging in any physical activity components of a physical education course (rather than from engaging in a physical education course) during a period of religious fasting.
Amends various Acts relating to the governance of public universities in Illinois. With respect to the high school coursework that a person must satisfactorily complete for university admission, adds agricultural sciences as a course option for the science category and agricultural education as a course option for the electives category. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the contents of the bill, but changes references from vocational education to career and technical education.
Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act. Removes a provision limiting consumers to 10 requests for disclosure of the current usual and customary retail price of prescription drugs or medical devices for which the person making the request has a prescription. Provides that a pharmacy must post a notice informing customers that they may request, in person or by telephone, the current usual and customary retail price of any brand or generic prescription drug or medical device that the pharmacy offers for sale to the public. Provides that a pharmacist or his or her authorized employee must disclose to the consumer at the point of sale the current pharmacy retail price for each prescription medication the consumer intends to purchase. If the consumer's cost-sharing amount for a prescription exceeds the current pharmacy retail price, the pharmacist or his or her authorized employee must disclose to the consumer that the pharmacy retail price is less than the patient's cost-sharing amount.
Amends the Nursing Home Care Act and the Hospital Licensing Act. Upon request, requires long-term care facilities and hospitals to facilitate at least one phone call or video call between a resident or patient and a family member of the resident or patient each day during a pandemic or other public health emergency. Effective immediately. House Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Nursing Home Care Act. Provides that, upon request, a facility shall make every reasonable effort to facilitate at least one phone call or video call between a resident and a single family member of the resident each day during a disaster declared by the Governor under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, unless doing so could pose a danger to residents or staff or redirect resources away from direct resident care and protection. Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that during a pandemic or other public health emergency, a hospital licensed under the Act shall develop and implement a contact policy to encourage patients' ability to engage with family members throughout the duration of the pandemic or other public health emergency, including through the use of phone calls, videos calls, or other electronic mechanism. Effective immediately.
Amends the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that service members and their spouses may engage in the practice of their occupation or profession without being licensed in the State of Illinois, subject to outlined circumstances and limitations. Provides that each director of a department that issues an occupational or professional license shall verify that the existing license for a service member or military spouse is in good standing from any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. Provides that if an existing license for a service member or military spouse is in good standing, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall waive any examination, educational, or experience requirements enabling exception to state licensure requirements. Provides that a department may adopt any rules necessary for the implementation and administration of provisions regarding military license exceptions and by rule shall provide for fees for administration. Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 20 ILCS 5/5-518 new Adds reference to: 20 ILCS 5/5-715 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that review and determination of an application for a professional license to a service member or his or her spouse shall be expedited by the department processing the application within 30 days (instead of 60) after the date on which the department receives all necessary documentation. Includes any required information from State and federal agencies as necessary documentation. Removes language requiring that the requirements for licensure in another state in which the service member or his or her spouse is licensed be substantially equivalent to the standards for licensure of this State. Provides instead that an application for licensure by a service member or his or her spouse must include proof that the applicant meets the requirements and standards for licensure through endorsement or reciprocity for the occupation or profession for which the applicant is applying.
