Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB1105

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Pediatric Palliative Care Act. Repeals a provision that made the Act inoperative on and after July 1, 2012. Makes changes to the legislative findings. Provides that the General Assembly finds that each year, approximately 1,500 (rather than 1,185) Illinois children are diagnosed with a serious illness (rather than with a potentially life-limiting illness); and that community-based pediatric palliative services have been shown to keep children out of the hospital by managing many symptoms in the home setting, thereby improving childhood quality of life while maintaining budget neutrality. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to develop a pediatric palliative care program (rather than a pediatric palliative care pilot program) under which a qualifying child may receive community-based pediatric palliative care from a trained interdisciplinary team and may also choose to continue to pursue aggressive curative or disease-directed treatments for a serious (rather than a potentially life-limiting) illness under the benefits available under Article V of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Defines a qualifying child to be a person under the age of 19 (rather than 18) who is enrolled in the medical assistance program under the Illinois Public Aid Code and who suffers from a serious illness (rather than a potentially life-limiting medical condition). Requires the Department to apply to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a State Plan amendment to implement the program. Requires the Department to implement the State plan amendment within 12 months of the date of federal approval. Prohibits the Department from drafting any rules in contravention of this timetable for program development and implementation. Removes all provisions concerning application for a federal Medicaid waiver program authorized under the Social Security Act. Expands the list of serious illnesses (rather than medical conditions) that render a person eligible for pediatric palliative care to include any other serious illness that the Department determines to be appropriate. In a provision concerning authorized providers, provides that at a minimum, a participating provider must house a pediatric interdisciplinary team that includes: (i) a physician, acting as the program medical director, who is board certified or board eligible in pediatrics or hospice and palliative medicine; (ii) a registered nurse; and (iii) a licensed social worker with a background in pediatric care. Requires all members of the pediatric interdisciplinary team to meet criteria the Department may establish by rule, including demonstrated expertise in pediatric palliative care (rather than requiring all members of the pediatric interdisciplinary team to submit to the Department proof of pediatric End-of-Life Nursing Education Curriculum (Pediatric ELNEC Training) or an equivalent). Expands the list of reimbursable services offered under the program to include any other services that the Department determines to be appropriate. Requires the Department, in consultation with interested stakeholders, to establish standards for and provide technical assistance to managed care organizations, as defined in the Illinois Public Aid Code, to ensure the delivery of pediatric palliative care services. Contains provisions concerning reporting requirements and criteria a case manager must meet for demonstrated expertise in pediatric palliative care.

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