Public Act 103-1041
 
SB3751 EnrolledLRB103 36642 CES 66751 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Equitable Health Outcomes Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to 
establish data collection standards to save lives, promote 
equitable health care outcomes, decrease health care costs, 
and ensure quality health care for all through a Health 
Outcomes Review Board. 
 
    Section 10. Health Outcomes Review Board. 
    (a) There is hereby established a Health Outcomes Review 
Board, which is tasked with annually reviewing and reporting 
data on health outcomes, including illnesses, treatments, and 
causes of death in this State, and which is also tasked with 
recommending solutions that will improve health outcomes in 
this State. 
    (b) The Board shall be composed of a minimum of 22 and a 
maximum of 25 members, appointed by the Director of Public 
Health or the Director's designee to serve 3-year terms. The 
Director of Public Health or the Director's designee shall 
serve as Chair. 
        (1) Members of the Board shall be appointed from 
    geographic areas throughout the State with knowledge of 
    health care and social determinants of health, including: 
            (A) representatives of hospitals, clinics, and 
        group and private medical practices; 
            (B) health care providers; 
            (C) nursing providers; 
            (D) the Director of each Department having 
        knowledge, data, or relevant jurisdiction over aspects 
        of the health care process; 
            (E) at least 2 representatives from communities in 
        the State most impacted by inequitable health 
        outcomes; 
            (F) representatives of an association of 
        healthcare providers; 
            (G) at least 2 representatives of nonprofit 
        organizations that work in health equity, to be 
        appointed by the Governor;
            (H) a representative of an association 
        representing a majority of hospitals statewide; and
            (I) other health care professionals and 
        representatives that the Director or the Director's 
        designee deems appropriate.
        (2) In appointing members to the Board, the Director 
    shall follow best practices as outlined by the Centers for 
    Disease Control and Prevention in the United States 
    Department of Health and Human Services. 
        (3) All initial appointments to the Board shall be 
    made within 60 days after the effective date of this Act. 
        (4) Board members shall serve without compensation or 
    perquisite arising from their service. 
    (c) The Director or the Director's designee shall call the 
first Board meeting as soon as practicable following the 
appointment of a majority of Board members, and in no case no 
later than 6 months after the effective date of this Act. 
Thereafter, the Board shall meet pursuant to a schedule that 
is established during the first Board meeting, but no less 
than 4 times per calendar year. The Board may additionally 
meet at the call of the Chair. 
    (d) A majority of the total number of members appointed to 
the Board shall constitute a quorum for the conducting of 
official Board business. Any recommendations of the Board 
shall be approved by a majority of the members present. 
    (e) In addition to any relevant national or publicly 
available data, the Board shall have access to deidentified 
data sets collected by the Department of Public Health. 
        (1) The data sets provided by the Department and all 
    activities or communications of the commission shall 
    comply with all State and federal laws relating to the 
    transmission of health information. 
        (2) Such data sets shall contain all relevant 
    information of patients that received care in this State 
    during the previous calendar year. 
        (3) Such data sets shall have all personally 
    identifying information removed as set forth in 45 CFR 
    164.514(b)(2).
        (4) Each member of the Board shall sign a 
    confidentiality agreement regarding personally 
    identifying information that the Department deems 
    necessary to the Board's objective, or that is disclosed 
    to the Board inadvertently. A Board member who knowingly 
    violates the confidentiality agreement commits a class C 
    misdemeanor. 
        (5) Members of the Board are not subject to subpoena 
    in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding 
    regarding the information presented in or opinions formed 
    as a result of a meeting or communication of the Board; 
    except that this paragraph does not prevent a member of 
    the Board from testifying regarding information or 
    opinions obtained independently of the Board or that are 
    public information. 
        (6) Notes, statements, medical records, reports, 
    communications, and memoranda that contain, or may 
    contain, patient information are not subject to subpoena, 
    discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil, 
    criminal, or administrative proceeding, unless the 
    subpoena is directed to a source that is separate and 
    apart from the Board. Nothing in this Section limits or 
    restricts the right to discover or use in a civil, 
    criminal, or administrative proceeding notes, statements, 
    medical records, reports, communications, or memoranda 
    that are available from another source separate and apart 
    from the Board and that arise entirely independent of the 
    Board's activities. Any information disclosed by the Board 
    must be disclosed in accordance with the Health Insurance 
    Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health 
    Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health 
    (HITECH) Act and their respective implementing 
    regulations.
    (f) The Board shall: 
        (1) provide recommendations on data collection 
    regarding race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender 
    identity, and language with consideration to all health 
    care facilities, including, but not limited to, hospitals, 
    community health centers, physician and group practices, 
    and insurance programs; the recommendations shall consider 
    federal guidance regarding data collection and reporting 
    standards and requirements, maintaining data and patient 
    confidentiality, and health care provider resources 
    necessary to implement new data collection and reporting 
    requirements; 
        (2) review illness and death incidents in the State 
    using the deidentified data sets that the Department 
    provides or any other lawful source of relevant 
    information; 
        (3) review research that substantiates the connections 
    between social determinants of health before, during, and 
    after hospital treatment; 
        (4) outline trends and patterns disaggregated by race, 
    ethnicity, and language relating to illness, death, and 
    treatments in this State; 
        (5) review comprehensive, nationwide data collection 
    on illness, death, and treatments, including data 
    disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and language; 
        (6) review any information provided by the Department 
    on social and environmental risk factors for all people, 
    and especially, people of color; 
        (7) review research to identify best practices and 
    effective interventions for improving the quality and 
    safety of health care and compare those to practices 
    currently in use in this State; 
        (8) review research to identify best practices and 
    effective interventions in order to address predisease 
    pathways of adverse health and compare those to practices 
    currently in use in this State; 
        (9) review research to identify effective 
    interventions for addressing social determinants of health 
    disparities; 
        (10) serve as a link with equitable health outcome 
    review teams throughout the country and participate in 
    regional and national review team activities; 
        (11) request input and feedback from interested and 
    affected stakeholders; 
        (12) compile annual reports, using aggregate data 
    based on the cases that the Department identifies for 
    reporting in an effort to further study the causes and 
    problems associated with inequitable health outcomes and 
    distribute these reports on the Department's website and 
    to the General Assembly, government agencies, health care 
    providers, and others as necessary to provide equitable 
    health care in the State; and
        (13) produce annually a report highlighting 
    recommended solutions and steps that could be taken in 
    this State to reduce inequitable health outcomes, 
    including complications, morbidity, and near-death or 
    life-threatening incidents, including recommendations to 
    assist health care providers, the Department, and 
    lawmakers in reducing inequitable treatment and health 
    outcomes and shall be distributed on the Department's 
    website and to the General Assembly, government agencies, 
    health care providers, and others as necessary to reduce 
    inequitable health treatments and outcomes in the State. 
    (g) The Board may: 
        (1) form special ad hoc panels to further investigate 
    cases of illness and death resulting from specific causes 
    when the need arises; and 
        (2) perform any other function as resources allow to 
    enhance efforts to reduce and prevent unnecessary death 
    and illness in the State. 
    (h) For recommendations that would require additional 
action by the General Assembly, the Board report shall include 
specific requests and outlines of legislative action needed, 
including budget requests. 
    (i) The Department of Public Health may adopt rules to 
achieve the outcomes described in this Act.