Public Act 096-1411
 
HB5053 EnrolledLRB096 18045 ASK 33417 b



    AN ACT concerning education.

 
    WHEREAS, The General Assembly finds and recognizes that 
there is a shortage of psychiatrists in designated shortage 
areas within this State; therefore
 
    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 
Psychiatry Practice Incentive Act.
 
    Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to establish 
a program in the Department of Public Health to ensure access 
to psychiatric health care services for all citizens of the 
State, by establishing programs of grants, loans, and loan 
forgiveness to recruit and retain psychiatric service 
providers in designated areas of the State for physicians who 
will agree to establish and maintain psychiatric practice in 
areas of the State demonstrating the greatest need for more 
psychiatric care. The program shall encourage licensed 
psychiatrists to locate in areas where shortages exist and to 
increase the total number of such physicians in the State.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act, unless the context 
otherwise requires:
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Director" means the Director of Public Health.
    "Designated shortage area" means an area designated by the 
Director as a psychiatric or mental health physician shortage 
area, as defined by the United States Department of Health and 
Human Services or as further defined by the Department to 
enable it to effectively fulfill the purpose stated in Section 
5 of this Act. Such areas may include the following:
        (1) an urban or rural area that is a rational area for 
    the delivery of health services;
    
        (2) a population group; or
    
        (3) a public or nonprofit private medical facility.

    "Eligible medical student" means a person who meets all of 
the following qualifications:
        (1) He or she is an Illinois resident at the time of 
    application for assistance under the program established 
    by this Act.
    
        (2) He or she is studying medicine in a medical school 
    located in Illinois.
    
        (3) He or she exhibits financial need, as determined by 
    the Department.
    
        (4) He or she agrees to practice full time in a 
    designated shortage area as a psychiatrist for one year for 
    each year that he or she receives assistance under this 
    Act.

        (5) He or she agrees to accept medical payments, as 
    defined in this Act, and to serve targeted populations. 
    "Medical facility" means a facility for the delivery of 
health services. "Medical facility" includes a hospital, State 
mental health institution, public health center, outpatient 
medical facility, rehabilitation facility, long-term care 
facility, federally-qualified health center, migrant health 
center, community health center, community mental health 
center, or State correctional institution.
    "Medical payments" means compensation provided to 
physicians for services rendered under Article V of the 
Illinois Public Aid Code. 
    "Medically underserved area" means an urban or rural area 
designated by the Secretary of the United States Department of 
Health and Human Services as an area with a shortage of 
personal health services or as otherwise designated by the 
Department of Public Health. 
    "Medically underserved population" means (i) the 
population of an urban or rural area designated by the 
Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human 
Services as an area with a shortage of personal health 
services, (ii) a population group designated by the Secretary 
of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as 
having a shortage of personal health services, or (iii) as 
otherwise designated by the Department of Public Health. 
    "Psychiatric physician" means a person licensed to 
practice medicine in all of its branches under the Medical 
Practice Act of 1987 with board eligibility or certification in 
the specialty of psychiatry, as defined by recognized standards 
of professional medical practice.
    "Psychiatric practice residency program" means a program 
accredited by the Residency Review Committee for Psychiatry of 
the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the 
American Osteopathic Association. 
    "Targeted populations" means one or more of the following:  
(i) a medically underserved population, (ii) persons in a 
medically underserved area, (iii) an uninsured population of 
this State, and (iv) persons enrolled in a medical program 
administered by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and 
Family Services.
    "Uninsured population" means persons who (i) do not own 
private health care insurance, (ii) are not part of a group 
insurance plan, and (iii) are not eligible for any State or 
federal government-sponsored health care program.
 
    Section 15. Powers and duties of the Department. The 
Department shall have all of the following powers and duties:
        (1) To allocate funds to psychiatric practice 
    residency and child and adolescent fellowship programs 
    according to the following priorities:
    
            (A) to increase the number of psychiatric 
        physicians in designated shortage areas;
    
            (B) to increase the percentage of psychiatric 
        physicians establishing practice within the State upon 
        completion of residency;
    
            (C) to increase the number of accredited 
        psychiatric practice residencies within the State; and
    
            (D) to increase the percentage of psychiatric 
        practice physicians establishing practice within the 
        State upon completion of residency.
        (2) To determine the procedures for the distribution of 
    the funds to psychiatric residency programs, including the 
    establishment of eligibility criteria in accordance with 
    the following guidelines:
            (A) preference for programs that are to be 
        established at locations that exhibit potential for 
        extending psychiatric  practice physician availability 
        to designated shortage areas;
    
            (B) preference for programs that are located away 
        from communities in which medical schools are located; 
        and
    
            (C) preference for programs located in hospitals 
        that have affiliation agreements with medical schools 
        located within the State.
    
    In distributing such funds, the Department may also 
    consider as secondary criteria whether or not a psychiatric 
    practice residency program has (i) adequate courses of 
    instruction in the child and adolescent behavioral 
    disorder sciences;
    (ii) availability and systematic 
    utilization of opportunities for residents to gain 
    experience through local health departments, community 
    mental health centers, or other preventive or occupational 
    medical facilities;
    (iii) a continuing program of 
    community oriented research in such areas as risk factors 
    in community populations;
    (iv) sufficient mechanisms for 
    maintenance of quality training, such as peer review, 
    systematic progress reviews, referral system, and 
    maintenance of adequate records; and
    (v) an appropriate 
    course of instruction in societal, institutional, and 
    economic conditions affecting psychiatric practice.
        (3) To receive and disburse federal funds in accordance 
    with the purpose stated in Section 5 of this Act.
        (4) To enter into contracts or agreements with any 
    agency or department of this State  or the United States to 
    carry out the provisions of this Act.
        (5) To coordinate the psychiatric residency grants 
    program established under this Act with other student 
    assistance and residency programs administered by the 
    Department and the Board of Higher Education under the 
    Health Services Education Grants Act.
        (6) To design and coordinate a study for the purpose of 
    assessing the characteristics of practice resulting from 
    the psychiatric practice residency programs including, but 
    not limited to, information regarding the nature and scope 
    of practices, location of practices, years of active 
    practice following completion of residency and other 
    information deemed necessary for the administration of 
    this Act.
        (7) To establish a program, and the criteria for such
    
    program, for the repayment of the educational loans of
    
    physicians who agree to (i) serve in designated shortage 
    areas
    for a specified period of time, no less than 3 years, 
    (ii) accept medical payments, as defined in this Act, and 
    (iii) serve targeted populations to the extent required by 
    the program. Payments under this program may be made for 
    the principal, interest, and related expenses of 
    government and commercial loans received by the individual 
    for tuition expenses and all other reasonable educational 
    expenses incurred by the individual. Payments made under 
    this provision are exempt from State income tax, as 
    provided by law.
        (8) To require psychiatric practice residency programs 
    seeking grants under this Act to make application according 
    to procedures consistent with the priorities and 
    guidelines established in items (1) and (2) of this 
    Section. 
        (9) To adopt rules and regulations that are necessary 
    for the establishment and maintenance of the programs 
    required by this Act.
 
    Section 20. Application requirement; ratio of State 
support to local support. Residency programs seeking funds 
under this Act must make application to the Department. The 
application shall include evidence of local support for the 
program, either in the form of funds, services, or other 
resources. The ratio of State support to local support shall be 
determined by the Department in a manner that is consistent 
with the purposes of this Act, as set forth in Section 5 of 
this Act. In establishing such ratio of State support to local 
support, the Department may vary the amount of the required 
local support depending upon the criticality of the need for 
more professional health care services, the geographic 
location, and the economic base of the designated shortage 
area.
 
    Section 25. Study participation. Residency programs 
qualifying for grants under this Act shall participate in the 
study required in item (6) of Section 15 of this Act.
 
    Section 30. Illinois Administrative Procedure Act. The 
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act is hereby expressly 
adopted and incorporated herein as if all of the provisions of 
such Act were included in this Act.
 
    Section 35. Annual report. The Department shall annually 
report to the General Assembly and the Governor the results and 
progress of all programs established under this Act on or 
before March 15.
    
    The annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor 
must include the impact of programs established under this Act 
on the ability of designated shortage areas to attract and 
retain physicians and other health care personnel. The report 
shall include recommendations to improve that ability.
    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall 
be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, 
the Minority Leader, and the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the 
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as 
required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization 
Act, and by filing such additional copies with the State 
Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly 
as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State 
Library Act.
 
    Section 40. Penalty for failure to fulfill obligation. Any 
recipient of assistance under this Act who fails to fulfill his 
or her obligation to practice full-time in a designated 
shortage area as a psychiatrist for one year for each year that 
he or she is a recipient of assistance shall pay to the 
Department a sum equal to 3 times the amount of the assistance 
provided for each year that the recipient fails to fulfill such 
obligation. A recipient of assistance who fails to fulfill his 
or her practice obligation shall have 30 days after the date on 
which that failure begins to enter into a contract with the 
Department that sets forth the manner in which that sum is 
required to be paid. The amounts paid to the Department under 
this Section shall be deposited into the Community Health 
Center Care Fund and shall be used by the Department to improve 
access to primary health care services as authorized by 
subsection (a) of Section 2310-200 of the Department of Public 
Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code 
of Illinois (20 ILCS 2310/2310-200).
    The Department may transfer to the Illinois Finance 
Authority, into an account outside of the State treasury, 
moneys in the Community Health Center Care Fund as needed, but 
not to exceed an amount established by rule by the Department 
to establish a reserve or credit enhancement escrow account to 
support a financing program or a loan or equipment leasing 
program to provide moneys to support the purposes of subsection 
(a) of Section 2310-200 of the Department of Public Health 
Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of 
Illinois (20 ILCS 2310/2310-200). The disposition of moneys at 
the conclusion of any financing program under this Section 
shall be determined by an interagency agreement.