Healthcare

Creates the Rural Hospital Task Force Act. Establishes the Rural Hospital Task Force within the Department of Public Health for the purpose of investigating the current state of rural hospitals and providing recommendations to prevent further closures of rural hospitals and to potentially expand rural hospital services. Provides that the Task Force shall convene to conduct business on at least 4 separate days. Requires the Department of Public Health to provide administrative and other support to the Task Force. Requires each agency and entity represented on the Task Force to share with the Task Force any data of the agency or entity necessary to achieve the purpose of the Task Force. Provides that all findings and recommendations made by the Task Force must be reported to the General Assembly before January 1, 2027. Provides that the Task Force is dissolved, and the Act is repealed, on January 1, 2027

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 after January 1, 2027 shall provide coverage for disposable incontinence supplies for any person with a disability. 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, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act to require coverage under those provisions.

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that any group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027 shall provide coverage for emergency medical services delivered by an out-of-network provider on the same terms as coverage that would be provided for an in-network provider. Provides that this requirement does not apply if the services rendered are not covered for in-network providers. 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 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, 2027 that provides coverage for: habilitative services shall provide coverage for habilitative speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering, regardless of whether the stuttering is classified as developmental; rehabilitative services shall provide coverage for rehabilitative speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering; or habilitative services and rehabilitative services shall provide coverage for habilitative speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering, regardless of whether the stuttering is classified as developmental, and shall provide coverage for rehabilitative speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering. Sets forth requirements and limitations for the coverage. 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 State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement. Effective January 1, 2027.

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 after January 1, 2026 shall provide coverage for one pair of custom-made retainers and one night guard every 2 years for each family covered by the policy. 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 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, 2027 shall be prohibited from limiting or excluding coverage of any prescription drug that an enrollee has been continuously using for a period of 6 months or more, so long as the prescription drug was selected by the enrollee's prescribing provider while the enrollee was covered by the enrollee's current or previous health plan. 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 Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Act. Requires the Department of Human Services, in coordination with a statewide association representing a majority of hospitals, to establish and offer a voluntary training that will be recorded and made available on the Department's website to all hospital social workers, clinicians, and administrative staff to inform them of BEACON, a centralized resource for Illinois youth and families seeking services for behavioral health needs, with the goal of encouraging families to seek assistance through BEACON and the Interagency Children's Behavioral Health Services Team. Provides that the training shall include how families and hospital staff can access BEACON, the process once a case is entered into BEACON, and State and community programs accessible through BEACON. Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Requires a psychiatric hospital to contact a youth or the youth's parents, guardian, or caregiver about the BEACON portal (rather than the Family Support Program and the Specialized Family Support Program) prior to referring the youth to the Department of Children and Family Services because the youth was left at the psychiatric hospital beyond medical necessity. Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with the Children's Behavioral Health Transformation Team in the Office of the Governor and relevant stakeholders, to report its work and make available resource materials, including model policies and guidance informed by a phased approach to implementing universal mental health screening in schools. Requires the State Board of Education to report its work by September 1, 2026. Provides that mental health screenings shall be offered by school districts to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, at least once a year, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

Amends the Prior Authorization Reform Act. Provides that a chronic health condition is a condition that is expected to last on year or more and requires ongoing medical attention to effectively manage the condition or prevent an adverse health event limits one or more activities of daily living. Replaces "chronic or long-term condition" with "chronic health condition". Provides that, if a health insurance issuer requires a prior authorization for a recurring health care service or maintenance medication for the treatment of a chronic health condition, the approval shall remain valid from the date the health care professional or health care provider receives the prior authorization approval for the duration of the chronic health condition or the length of the treatment, as determined by the patient's health care professional, unless the standard of treatment for that health condition changes.