SPRINGFIELD — A massive health care reform bill, the fourth and final “pillar” of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus agenda, passed the state Senate Thursday, the final step before heading to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his signature.
Sponsored by Chicago Democratic state Rep. Camille Lilly and state Sen. Mattie Hunter, the measure is designed to eliminate racial and other inequities in the state’s health care system, and includes provisions to expand medical services available to low-income residents and residents of color.
Specifically, the bill addresses access to health care, hospital closures, managed care organization reform, community health worker certification and reimbursement, maternal and infant mortality, mental and substance abuse treatment, and medical bias.
“For Black lives to truly matter, their right to quality health care must [not] be inhibited,” Hunter said in Senate floor debate. “It is our responsibility as elected officials to create laws that create an enriched, lasting impact on the communities we represent. This legislation does just that, and there is no better time to enact than now.”
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Pritzker lauded the sponsors and indicated he planned on advancing the bill, which “roots out racism from our healthcare system and state government.”
“For too long, our healthcare system has left behind Black and brown communities creating disparities in health outcomes. But today, here in Illinois, our legislature has passed a remarkable piece of legislation to build a healthier future for all of our communities,” the governor said in the statement Thursday evening.
The bill passed the Senate on a 41-16 vote after revisions to the original version, which failed to pass in January’s lame duck session.
The new version eliminated provisions that would have replaced the state’s Medicaid managed care program with a standard fee-for-service payment system. Managed care, which is a system of private insurance companies hired by the state to manage Medicaid, is how a majority of the state’s residents on Medicaid are enrolled in the program.
A last-minute amendment, which enhanced dementia training requirements for the Illinois Department on Aging, was also added before the bill went for a full vote in the House last week. It passed the House on a 72-41 vote.
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Most of the items included in the bill are subject to state appropriation, meaning future General Assemblies will have to decide whether to allocate the money to fund them.
House and Senate Republicans shared concerns about the total cost of implementing the legislation. In floor debate, state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he doesn’t believe the state can afford to implement all the provisions in the bill
“The fiscal impact of $12 billion would represent almost 30 percent of the Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2022 general funds budget, which is $41.6 billion,” McClure said. “We just can’t afford it and that’s really what it comes down to. And the $7.5 billion from the recent stimulus is going to help us quite a bit, but we’re still in very rough financial shape right now.”
Democratic Sen. Jacqueline Collins, of Chicago, questioned how a price tag can be put on somebody’s life.
Another significant provision in the bill would put a halt on hospital closures for up to 60 days after the effective date of the act, which is an effort to prevent hospital closures in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. Closures are also deferred until either the state or U.S. are no longer under disaster declaration or public health emergency.
The bill would also create a Health and Human Services Taskforce and an Anti-Racism Commission to make recommendations for solutions to be enacted by hospitals, health care organizations and the General Assembly as the conversation and analysis of racial inequities in the health care system continue.
The other pillars of the Black Caucus agenda, which address economic equity, public safety and education, were also introduced in January’s lame duck session. Those three pillars passed during the lame duck session and have all been signed into law by the governor.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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State Senate sends health care reform bill to Pritzker’s desk - Chicago Sun-Times
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