Legislative Activity
Find out how state legislative proposals will impact healthcare providers—and efforts to serve patients, families and communities across Illinois. IHA trackes these issues and provides summaries of key proposals.
Nurses
HB 4100: Nurse Practice Act (Rep. Kifowit)
Amends NPA and specific medical facilities Acts, including the Hospital Licensing Act, to address workplace violence through mandatory safety and prevention training, required signage, and grants whistleblower protections to safeguard nurses from employers' retaliatory actions. Also amends Illinois Unified Code of Corrections requiring advance notice and protections when persons are transferred offsite from their facilities to licensed facilities for medical care and treatment. Bill filed on 9/25/17. View the status and access the House bill.
HB 313/SB 625: Illinois Nurse Practice Act—Sunset Activity (Rep. Feigenhotz/Sen. Martinez)
Amends NPA with updated sections to meet this year's Sunset provision. Assigned to Health Care Licenses Committee on 1/25 in the House and Licensed Activities and Pensions Committee on 2/1 in the Senate. View the status and access the House and Senate bills.
SB 677/HB 2687: Nurse Compact Licensure (Sen. Althoff/Rep. Soto)
Proposes new law that allows Illinois to join a multi-state initiative recognizing a nurse's license issued in their home state to receive recognition in any of the other 30+ states that are currently part of the Compact. Concept models the portability of state driver's license. Access the Senate and House bills.
Physician Assistants
SB 1585: Illinois PA Practice Act Modernization (Sen. Martinez/Rep. Soto)
In anticipation of the Physician Assistant Act's statutory expiration at the end of the calendar year, the bill renews the Act for another 10 years as well as now allows for a collaborative relationship, rather than supervisory one, with a PA's physician providers. SB 1585 successfully passed both chambers and will be sent to the Governor for his signature. SB 1585 in its final form.
Physicians
SB 655: Medical Practice Act (Sen. Mulroe)
Amends Medical Practice Act to impose new reporting mandate for physicians to the state. Requires every physician to report to the Secretary of State "any medical condition, as defined by Driver's License Medical Review Law of 1992" that is likely to trigger loss of consciousness or loss of ability to safely operate a motor vehicle within 10 days of physician becoming aware of the person's condition. Assigned to Criminal Law Committee on 2/1. View the status and access the Senate bill.
Certified Professional Midwives
HB 677/SB 1754: Home Birth Safety Act (Rep. Gaebel/Sen. Martinez)
Creates new category of licensure and practice Act for individuals to conduct home deliveries as certified professionals in midwifery under Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. In addition to creating new Illinois Midwifery Board, establishes many practice provisions, including but not limited to applicant qualifications, education, scope of practice, and data reporting. Also mandates requirements for working collaboratively with licensed physicians, advanced practice nurses, and hospital venues for safe and coordinated transitions when higher level of care may be needed. View the status and access HB 677 and SB 1754.
Pharmacy-Related
HB 707: Illinois Controlled Substance Act (Rep. Bellock)
Amends existing Act to include explicit actions by persons seeking Controlled Substances or authorized prescribers allowing inappropriate access to addictive drugs or dosing amounts that are not medically necessary as additional rationale to regard as fraudulent activity. Enhances criminal and penalty sanctions for such actions. View the status and access the House bill.
HB 2392: (Rep. Flowers)
Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act with mandates for staffing levels, prescription fill limits, working conditions, and whistleblower protections. View the status and access the House bill.
HB 2742: Discontinue Prescription Orders (Rep. Zalewski)
Amends the Pharmacy Practice Act for IDFPR to adopt rules that, in part, require prescription discontinuation orders to be forwarded to pharmacies. View the status and access the House bill.
SB 702/HB 3680: Illinois Controlled Substance Act (Sen. McCarter/Rep. Phelps)
Amends Act to move chemical opioid to Schedule I list (illegal, addictive) as this is a synthetic opioid that is about 7 times more potent than morphine and has been implicated in at least 80 overdose deaths last year in the U.S. The DEA added to their Schedule I list last November. View status and access copy of Senate and House bill.
Hospital Operations
HB 2693: Cardiac Arrest Data Collection Fund (Rep. Harris)
Amends Illinois Hospital Licensing Act and University of Illinois Hospital Licensing Act mandating all hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to pay a $3,500 annual fee to support statewide quality improvement efforts for addressing cardiac arrest care and improving arrest survival rates. View the status and access the House bill.
HB 2762: Do Not Admit List (Rep. Lilly)
Amends Illinois Hospital Licensing Act and University of Illinois Hospital Licensing Act to prohibit hospitals from maintaining a list of individuals who may not be admitted for treatment at the hospital. View the status and access the House bill.
HB 2800: Perinatal HIV Prevention (Rep. Flowers)
Amends the Perinatal HIV Prevention Act to require healthcare professionals to offer HIV counseling/testing to patients identified as pregnant as early on in the pregnancy as possible, during the third trimester, unless the patient already has an HIV status or is HIV positive, and again during labor unless there is a documented HIV status. Requires that the patient opt-out of the counseling/testing. View the status and access the House bill.
SB 741: Mandated Influenza Vaccine (Sen. Jones III)
Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law granting IDPH authority to require local health departments (LHDs) and any facility (including hospitals) licensed by IDPH to implement a mandated flu vaccine program (versus current law that requires an offer of a vaccine) to ensure that healthcare personnel are vaccinated against influenza. View the status and access the Senate bill.
SB 1400: Health Care Worker Background Check (Sen. Mulroe)
Amends several Acts to consolidate current requirements from those laws into the state's existing Health Care Worker Background Check Act. The current law requires healthcare employers to check IDPH's registry for hire eligibility prior to an organization retaining any unlicensed person. As proposed, the bill expands the mandate so that employers, in addition to checking on all paid employees, will be required to validate eligibility on their volunteers. View the status and access the Senate bill.