SB1651 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 04474 RJF 14492 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1651

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Terri Bryant

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 415/4d	from Ch. 127, par. 63b104d
225 ILCS 65/60-45 new

Amends the personnel Code. Provides that registered nurses, including those employed by the Department of Public Health, are completely exempt from the jurisdiction of the Department of Central Management Services with respect to the hiring of those individuals. Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that when hiring a registered nurse, no State agency shall take into consideration the accreditation status of the nursing school or program of the applicant if he or she is licensed as a registered nurse by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Personnel Code is amended by changing Section 4d as follows:

(20 ILCS 415/4d) (from Ch. 127, par. 63b104d)

Sec. 4d. Partial exemptions. The following positions in State service are exempt from jurisdictions A, B, and C to the extent stated for each, unless those jurisdictions are extended as provided in this Act:

(1) In each department, board or commission that now maintains or may hereafter maintain a major administrative division, service or office in both Sangamon County and Cook County, 2 private secretaries for the director or chairman thereof, one located in the Cook County office and the other located in the Sangamon County office, shall be exempt from jurisdiction B; in all other departments, boards and commissions one private secretary for the director or chairman thereof shall be exempt from jurisdiction B. In all departments, boards and commissions one confidential assistant for the director or chairman thereof shall be exempt from jurisdiction B. This paragraph is subject to such modifications or waiver of the exemptions as may be necessary to assure the continuity of federal contributions in those agencies supported in whole or in part by federal funds.

(2) The resident administrative head of each State charitable, penal and correctional institution, the chaplains thereof, and all member, patient and inmate employees are exempt from jurisdiction B.

(3) The Civil Service Commission, upon written recommendation of the Director of Central Management Services, shall exempt from jurisdiction B other positions which, in the judgment of the Commission, involve either principal administrative responsibility for the determination of policy or principal administrative responsibility for the way in which policies are carried out, except positions in agencies which receive federal funds if such exemption is inconsistent with federal requirements, and except positions in agencies supported in whole by federal funds.

(4) All beauticians and teachers of beauty culture and teachers of barbering, and all positions heretofore paid under Section 1.22 of "An Act to standardize position titles and salary rates", approved June 30, 1943, as amended, shall be exempt from jurisdiction B.

(5) Licensed attorneys in positions as legal or technical advisors; positions in the Department of Natural Resources requiring incumbents to be either a registered professional engineer or to hold a bachelor's degree in engineering from a recognized college or university; licensed physicians in positions of medical administrator or physician or physician specialist (including psychiatrists); all positions within the Department of Juvenile Justice requiring licensure by the State Board of Education under Article 21B of the School Code; all positions within the Illinois School for the Deaf and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired requiring licensure by the State Board of Education under Article 21B of the School Code and all rehabilitation/mobility instructors and rehabilitation/mobility instructor trainees at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired; and registered nurses (except those registered nurses employed by the Department of Public Health); except those in positions in agencies which receive federal funds if such exemption is inconsistent with federal requirements and except those in positions in agencies supported in whole by federal funds, are exempt from jurisdiction B only to the extent that the requirements of Section 8b.1, 8b.3 and 8b.5 of this Code need not be met.

(6) All positions established outside the geographical limits of the State of Illinois to which appointments of other than Illinois citizens may be made are exempt from jurisdiction B.

(7) Staff attorneys reporting directly to individual Commissioners of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission are exempt from jurisdiction B.

(8) Twenty-one senior public service administrator positions within the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, as set forth in this paragraph (8), requiring the specific knowledge of healthcare administration, healthcare finance, healthcare data analytics, or information technology described are exempt from jurisdiction B only to the extent that the requirements of Sections 8b.1, 8b.3, and 8b.5 of this Code need not be met. The General Assembly finds that these positions are all senior policy makers and have spokesperson authority for the Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. When filling positions so designated, the Director of Healthcare and Family Services shall cause a position description to be published which allots points to various qualifications desired. After scoring qualified applications, the Director shall add Veteran's Preference points as enumerated in Section 8b.7 of this Code. The following are the minimum qualifications for the senior public service administrator positions provided for in this paragraph (8):

(A) HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION.

Medical Director: Licensed Medical Doctor in good standing; experience in healthcare payment systems, pay for performance initiatives, medical necessity criteria or federal or State quality improvement programs; preferred experience serving Medicaid patients or experience in population health programs with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution.

Chief, Bureau of Quality Management: Advanced degree in health policy or health professional field preferred; at least 3 years experience in implementing or managing healthcare quality improvement initiatives in a clinical setting.

Quality Management Bureau: Manager, Care Coordination/Managed Care Quality: Clinical degree or advanced degree in relevant field required; experience in the field of managed care quality improvement, with knowledge of HEDIS measurements, coding, and related data definitions.

Quality Management Bureau: Manager, Primary Care Provider Quality and Practice Development: Clinical degree or advanced degree in relevant field required; experience in practice administration in the primary care setting with a provider or a provider association or an accrediting body; knowledge of practice standards for medical homes and best evidence based standards of care for primary care.

Director of Care Coordination Contracts and Compliance: Bachelor's degree required; multi-year experience in negotiating managed care contracts, preferably on behalf of a payer; experience with health care contract compliance.

Manager, Long Term Care Policy: Bachelor's degree required; social work, gerontology, or social service degree preferred; knowledge of Olmstead and other relevant court decisions required; experience working with diverse long term care populations and service systems, federal initiatives to create long term care community options, and home and community-based waiver services required. The General Assembly finds that this position is necessary for the timely and effective implementation of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

Manager, Behavioral Health Programs: Clinical license or advanced degree required, preferably in psychology, social work, or relevant field; knowledge of medical necessity criteria and governmental policies and regulations governing the provision of mental health services to Medicaid populations, including children and adults, in community and institutional settings of care. The General Assembly finds that this position is necessary for the timely and effective implementation of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

Manager, Office of Accountable Care Entity Development: Bachelor's degree required, clinical degree or advanced degree in relevant field preferred; experience in developing integrated delivery systems, including knowledge of health homes and evidence-based standards of care delivery; multi-year experience in health care or public health management; knowledge of federal ACO or other similar delivery system requirements and strategies for improving health care delivery.

Manager of Federal Regulatory Compliance: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred, in healthcare management or relevant field; experience in healthcare administration or Medicaid State Plan amendments preferred; experience interpreting federal rules; experience with either federal health care agency or with a State agency in working with federal regulations.

Manager, Office of Medical Project Management: Bachelor's degree required, project management certification preferred; multi-year experience in project management and developing business analyst skills; leadership skills to manage multiple and complex projects.

Manager of Medicare/Medicaid Coordination: Bachelor's degree required, knowledge and experience with Medicare Advantage rules and regulations, knowledge of Medicaid laws and policies; experience with contract drafting preferred.

Chief, Bureau of Eligibility Integrity: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree in public administration or business administration preferred; experience equivalent to 4 years of administration in a public or business organization required; experience with managing contract compliance required; knowledge of Medicaid eligibility laws and policy preferred; supervisory experience preferred. The General Assembly finds that this position is necessary for the timely and effective implementation of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(B) HEALTHCARE FINANCE.

Director of Care Coordination Rate and Finance: MBA, CPA, or Actuarial degree required; experience in managed care rate setting, including, but not limited to, baseline costs and growth trends; knowledge and experience with Medical Loss Ratio standards and measurements.

Director of Encounter Data Program: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred, preferably in health care, business, or information systems; at least 2 years healthcare or other similar data reporting experience, including, but not limited to, data definitions, submission, and editing; background in HIPAA transactions relevant to encounter data submission; experience with large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution or other knowledge of healthcare claims systems.

Manager of Medical Finance, Division of Finance: Requires relevant advanced degree or certification in relevant field, such as Certified Public Accountant; coursework in business or public administration, accounting, finance, data analysis, or statistics preferred; experience in control systems and GAAP; financial management experience in a healthcare or government entity utilizing Medicaid funding.

(C) HEALTHCARE DATA ANALYTICS.

Data Quality Assurance Manager: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred, preferably in business, information systems, or epidemiology; at least 3 years of extensive healthcare data reporting experience with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution; previous data quality assurance role or formal data quality assurance training.

Data Analytics Unit Manager: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred, in information systems, applied mathematics, or another field with a strong analytics component; extensive healthcare data reporting experience with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution; experience as a business analyst interfacing between business and information technology departments; in-depth knowledge of health insurance coding and evolving healthcare quality metrics; working knowledge of SQL and/or SAS.

Data Analytics Platform Manager: Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred, preferably in business or information systems; extensive healthcare data reporting experience with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution; previous experience working on a health insurance data analytics platform; experience managing contracts and vendors preferred.

(D) HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

Manager of MMIS Claims Unit: Bachelor's degree required, with preferred coursework in business, public administration, information systems; experience equivalent to 4 years of administration in a public or business organization; working knowledge with design and implementation of technical solutions to medical claims payment systems; extensive technical writing experience, including, but not limited to, the development of RFPs, APDs, feasibility studies, and related documents; thorough knowledge of IT system design, commercial off the shelf software packages and hardware components.

Assistant Bureau Chief, Office of Information Systems: Bachelor's degree required, with preferred coursework in business, public administration, information systems; experience equivalent to 5 years of administration in a public or private business organization; extensive technical writing experience, including, but not limited to, the development of RFPs, APDs, feasibility studies and related documents; extensive healthcare technology experience with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution; experience as a business analyst interfacing between business and information technology departments; thorough knowledge of IT system design, commercial off the shelf software packages and hardware components.

Technical System Architect: Bachelor's degree required, with preferred coursework in computer science or information technology; prior experience equivalent to 5 years of computer science or IT administration in a public or business organization; extensive healthcare technology experience with a large provider, health insurer, government agency, or research institution; experience as a business analyst interfacing between business and information technology departments.

The provisions of this paragraph (8), other than this sentence, are inoperative after January 1, 2014.

(Source: P.A. 99-45, eff. 7-15-15; 100-258, eff. 8-22-17; 100-771, eff. 8-10-18.)

Section 10. The Nurse Practice Act is amended by adding Section 60-45 as follows:

(225 ILCS 65/60-45 new)

Sec. 60-45. State agency registered nurse hiring; accreditation. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, when hiring a registered nurse, no State agency shall take into consideration the accreditation status of the nursing school or program of the applicant if he or she is licensed as a registered nurse by the Department under this Act.