Healthcare

Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice for any seller of accident insurance or health insurance to solicit individuals who are residents of a nursing home or long-term care facility or individuals who are over the age of 65, unless the seller: (1) does not require a purchasing decision in the first communication to the potential enrollee; (2) advises the potential enrollee of the benefit of examining the potential enrollee's current insurance plan and discussing any changes with a family member, friend, or other advisor before making any decisions; (3) provides a phone number that may be called if the potential enrollee or the potential enrollee's family members, friends, or other advisors have any questions; and (4) allows the potential enrollee to opt out of any future communications with the seller. Provides that it is also an unlawful practice for any seller or provider of accident insurance or health insurance to enter into or amend an insurance policy with a person who: (1) is over the age of 65 and who has executed a power of attorney to give another person authority over medical decisions; or (2) has a medical condition, such as dementia, that would reduce the person's capacity to make informed decisions independently. Provides that the provision does not apply to a new insurance policy or an amendment to an insurance policy that is agreed to by a person with a lawfully executed power of attorney relating to the enrollee or potential enrollee's health or financial matters.

Amends the Prenatal Syphilis Act. Provides that every appropriate health care professional (rather than physician or other person) attending in a professional capacity a pregnant woman in Illinois shall test every pregnant person (rather than take or cause to be taken a sample of blood of such woman) at the time of the first examination and shall perform a second test (rather than shall take or cause to be taken a second sample of blood) during the third trimester of pregnancy, between 27 through 32 weeks of gestation. Deletes certain references to serological tests. Provides that reports of births and still births shall be made by appropriate health care professionals (rather than by physicians or other persons).

Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall create a professional development course that addresses racial disparities in maternal health treatment and the impact of racial disparities on non-Hispanic Black and American Indian women. Provides that the course shall have a length of at least one hour. Requires the course to include education on (i) current statistics about pregnancy-related death for all racial and ethnic groups, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (ii) potential risk factors associated with women that are a part of a marginalized racial or ethnic group that has increased maternal mortality rates, and (iii) medical care plans and programs that have been demonstrated to successfully decrease maternal mortality rates and complications before and after pregnancy. Provides that the Department shall require health care professionals to complete the professional development course.

Amends the Regulatory Sunset Act. Changes the repeal date of the Illinois Dental Practice Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2036. Amends the Illinois Dental Practice Act. In the definition of "branches of dentistry", adds oral and maxillofacial pathology, dental public health, oral medicine, and orofacial pain to the included specialties. Creates a temporary dental hygiene license for dental students who meet certain requirements. Provides that a licensee holding a temporary dental hygiene license must practice under the supervision of a dentist. Provides that the temporary dental hygiene license is active for one year from its issuance date. Changes the implementation deadline for an order regarding the services that are necessary to be performed on a patient who is in a State or federal prison and who cannot travel to a dental office to 180 days of the order's issuance (rather than 45 days of the order's issuance). Removes language providing that provisions concerning public health dentistry are inoperative on and after January 1, 2026. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall provide coverage for hippotherapy and other forms of therapeutic riding. Makes conforming changes in the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, and the Health Maintenance Organization Act.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or a managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 shall provide coverage for the cost of a karyotype test or related hormone testing to diagnose Klinefelter syndrome. Amends 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 to require coverage under those provisions.

Amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Public Health is vested with the duty and responsibility for oversight and training connected with the use of the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form at all hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other facilities and providers that use the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall develop, in consultation with stakeholders determined by the Director of Public Health, training resources to support informed decisions and accurate completion of the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall establish a simple, efficient, and effective process to ensure oversight of and accountability for training to support informed decisions and accurate completion of the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form at all hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other facilities and providers that use the Department of Public Health Uniform POLST form. Provides that, in consultation with various organizations, the Department of Public Health shall adopt rules implementing these policies no later than 2 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health, in connection with implementing these policies, may also consult with the Office of the Secretary of State with respect to the Advance Directive Registry established by the Secretary of State.

Creates the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) Act. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish an Illinois Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) program that is family-driven, youth-guided, and trauma-informed, and includes youth and family involvement in all aspects of care planning. Requires the Department to submit a State Plan Amendment, by January 1, 2026, to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish coverage of federally authorized, medically necessary inpatient psychiatric services delivered by a certified PRTF to medical assistance beneficiaries under 21 years of age. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules to implement the PRTF program that at a minimum shall include: (i) certification and participation requirements for PRTF providers in compliance with all applicable federal laws, regulations, requirements, and policies; (ii) monitoring and oversight of PRTF services; (iii) a limit on allowable beds at any one PRTF, not to exceed 40 total beds; and other matters. Requires the Department to establish, and update as needed, a methodology for completing a statewide PRTF capacity analysis for the purposes of identifying capacity needs for PRTF services under the Illinois Medical Assistance Program. Requires the Department to establish a PRTF Advisory Committee responsible for reviewing and providing guidance on the Department's policies and implementations of the PRTF program. Requires the Department to publish on its website counts of reported emergency safety interventions and serious occurrences by State fiscal year and quarter. Makes conforming changes to the Specialized Mental Health Rehabilitation Act of 2013, the Child Care Act of 1969, and other various Acts. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026 shall provide coverage for medically necessary general anesthesia, regardless of the duration, for any procedure covered by the policy, and that medical necessity shall be determined by the attending anesthesiologist or licensed anesthesia provider. Provides that an individual or group policy of accident and health insurance is prohibited from denying payment or reimbursement for anesthesia services solely because the duration of care exceeded a preset time limit. Amends 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 Services Plans Act, and the Illinois Public Aid Code to require coverage under those provisions. Effective immediately.

Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that a hospital licensed under the Act must, at the time a patient is being checked in, give the patient an opportunity to designate an emergency contact to be notified if the patient dies or experiences a significant change in condition. If an emergency contact is designated, hospital staff must communicate with the emergency contact and ask whether the emergency contact would prefer to be notified by telephone call, by hospital staff when the emergency contact reaches the hospital, or by some other method.