Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires the community spouse resource allowance to be established and maintained at the maximum amount permitted under a specified provision of the Social Security Act, or an amount set after a fair hearing, or the amount transferred by the institutionalized spouse to the community spouse by court order, whichever is greater (rather than requiring the community spouse resource allowance to be established and maintained at the higher of $109,560 or the minimum level permitted under the Social Security Act, or an amount set after a fair hearing, whichever is greater). Requires the monthly maintenance allowance for the community spouse to be established and maintained at the maximum amount permitted under a specified provision of the Social Security Act, or an amount set after a fair hearing, or the amount transferred by the institutionalized spouse to the community spouse by court order, whichever is greater (rather than requiring the monthly maintenance allowance for the community spouse to be established and maintained at the higher of $2,739 per month or the minimum level permitted under the Social Security Act, or an amount set after a fair hearing, whichever is greater). Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Restores language that makes the community spouse resource allowance amount subject to federal approval. Makes the bill effective January 1, 2023.

Creates the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Rate Equity Act. Provides that, beginning in 2023, and every State fiscal year thereafter, the General Assembly shall appropriate sufficient funds to the Department of Human Services to ensure grants to community-based prevention organizations and providers of mental health and substance use disorder treatment under community service grant programs will be adjusted upward by an amount equal to the Consumer Price Index-U from the previous year, not to exceed 2% in any State fiscal year. Requires similar appropriations to be made, beginning in 2024, to increase the reimbursement rates for certified community mental health centers and behavioral health clinics and licensed or certified community-based substance use disorder treatment providers. Amends the Substance Use Disorder Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to implement incremental rate increases for all community-based substance use disorder treatment and intervention services beginning July 1, 2021 and every State fiscal year thereafter. Amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Requires the Department to implement incremental rate increases for all community-based mental health treatment services beginning July 1, 2021 and every State fiscal year thereafter. Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that, beginning on July 1, 2021, reimbursement rates for psychiatric and behavioral health services provided by community mental health centers or behavioral health clinics shall be increased by 9%. Requires incremental rate increases beginning July 1, 2022 and every State fiscal year thereafter. Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. Permits the Departments of Human Services and Healthcare and Family Services to adopt emergency rules. Effective immediately.

Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Ratifies and approves the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows for the issuance of multistate licenses that allow nurses to practice in their home state and other compact states. Provides that the Nurse Licensure Compact does not supersede existing State labor laws. Provides that the State may not share with or disclose to the Interstate Commission of Nurse Licensure Compact Administrators or any other state any of the contents of a nationwide criminal history records check conducted for the purpose of multistate licensure under the Nurse Licensure Compact.

Amends the Cemetery Care Act. Defines "average fair market value" and "total return percentage". Allows a cemetery authority to take distributions from its fund by net income distribution or total return distribution. Requires an application for implementation of the total return distribution method to be submitted at least 60 days before the effective date of the election to use total return. Provides that the total return percentage elected may be reduced but may not be increased unless additional application is made to the Comptroller with documentation demonstrating the rate of return of the care funds over the last 3 years to support an increase in the percentage. Allows a cemetery authority that has elected the total return distribution method to elect to reconvert to a net income distribution method by submitting written documentation to the Comptroller in support of the reconversion. Allows the Comptroller to take corrective measures and evaluate the care fund conditions and choose not to impose corrective measures under specified circumstances. Makes other changes.

Amends the Podiatric Medical Practice Act of 1987. Provides that a podiatric physician may provide and administer vaccinations, including, but not limited to, vaccinations for COVID-19 and influenza. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Deletes reference to: 225 ILCS 100/20.3 new Adds reference to: 215 ILCS 5/356z.25 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that no group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan shall deny or delay coverage for medically necessary treatment because the insured, enrollee, or beneficiary previously received any treatment, including the same or similar treatment, for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections or pediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, or because the insured, enrollee, or beneficiary has been diagnosed with or receives treatment for an otherwise diagnosed condition. Provides that coverage of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections and pediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric syndrome shall adhere to the treatment recommendations developed by a medical professional consortium convened for the purposes of researching, identifying, and publishing best practice standards for diagnosis and treatment of such disorders or syndrome that are accessible for medical professionals and are based on evidence of positive patient outcomes. Provides that coverage for any form of medically necessary treatment shall not be limited over a lifetime of an insured, enrollee, or beneficiary or by policy period. Provides that nothing in the provisions prevents insurers from requesting treatment notes and anticipated duration of treatment and outcomes. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 2 Provides that coverage for any form of medically necessary treatment shall not be limited over a lifetime of an insured, enrollee, or beneficiary, unless the patient is no longer benefiting from the treatment, or by policy period (rather than coverage for any form of medically necessary treatment shall not be limited over a lifetime of an insured, enrollee, or beneficiary or by policy period).

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that every insurer that amends, delivers, issues, or renews a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or a qualified health plan offered through the health insurance marketplace in the State and Medicaid managed care organizations providing coverage for hospital or medical treatment shall provide coverage for medically necessary treatment of mental, emotional, nervous, or substance use disorders or conditions. Provides that an insurer shall not limit benefits or coverage for medically necessary services on the basis that those services should be or could be covered by a public program. Provides that an insurer shall base any medical necessity determination or the utilization review criteria on current generally accepted standards of mental, emotional, nervous, or substance use disorder or condition care. Provides that in conducting utilization review of covered health care services and benefits for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental, emotional, and nervous disorders or conditions in children, adolescents, and adults, an insurer shall exclusively apply the criteria and guidelines set forth in the most recent versions of the treatment criteria developed by the nonprofit professional association for the relevant clinical specialty. Provides that an insurer shall not apply different, additional, conflicting, or more restrictive utilization review criteria than the criteria and guidelines set forth in the treatment criteria. Provides that the Director may, after appropriate notice and opportunity for hearing, assess a civil penalty between $5,000 and $20,000 for each violation. Amends the Health Carrier External Review Act. Provides that the independent review organization shall comply with specified requirements for an adverse determination or final adverse determination involving mental, emotional, nervous, or substance use disorders or conditions. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Provides that a school uniform or dress code policy adopted by a school board or local school council shall not prohibit a student from wearing any articles of clothing or items that have cultural or religious significance to the student if those articles of clothing or items are not obscene or derogatory toward others and shall not prohibit the right of a student to wear or accessorize the student's graduation attire with items associated with the student's cultural or ethnic identity or any protected characteristic or category identified in the Illinois Human Rights Act, including, but not limited to, Native American items of cultural significance.

Creates the Freedom to Subscribe Directly Act. Provides that a provider of a digital application distribution platform for which cumulative downloads of software applications from the digital application distribution platform to Illinois users exceed 1,000,000 downloads in the previous or current calendar year may not: (i) require a software application developer that is domiciled in the State to use a particular in-application payment system as the exclusive mode of accepting payments from a user for software application downloads or digital purchases; (ii) require use of a particular in-application payment system for accepting payments from Illinois users to download a software application or purchase a digital or physical copy; or (iii) retaliate against a developer that is domiciled in the State or an Illinois user for using an in-application payment system or digital application distribution platform that is not owned by, operated by, or affiliated with the provider. Exempts special-purpose digital application distribution platforms from the Act. Provides that the Attorney General may receive complaints and investigate violations of the Act. Provides that any person aggrieved by a violation of the Act may commence a civil action. Defines terms.

Amends the Illinois Housing Development Act. Provides that the Illinois Housing Development Authority shall develop a form and include it with certain financing agreements. Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides for a reduction in assessed value for affordable rental housing construction or rehabilitation. Effective immediately. Senate Committee Amendment No. 2 Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with various technical, grammatical, and formatting corrections. Provides that the reduced valuation applies through December 31, 2031 (in the introduced bill, December 31, 2030). Provides that the special assessment program applies in counties with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants. Effective immediately. Senate Floor Amendment No. 3 Makes various grammatical and technical corrections.

Urges the Administration of President Biden to publish without delay the Equal Rights Amendment as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Urges Congress to pass a joint resolution affirming the Equal Rights Amendment as the Twenty-Eighth Amendment. Calls on other states to join in this action by passing the same or similar resolutions.