093_HB1713eng
HB1713 Engrossed LRB093 04851 MBS 04910 b
1 AN ACT in relation to health.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Rural/Downstate Health Act is
5 amended by changing Section 2 as follows:
6 (410 ILCS 65/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 8052)
7 Sec. 2. Findings; definition. The General Assembly finds
8 that citizens in the rural, downstate and designated shortage
9 areas of this State are increasingly faced with problems in
10 accessing necessary health care. The closure of small rural
11 hospitals, the inability of these areas to attract new
12 physicians, the elimination of existing physician services
13 because of increasing practice costs, including the cost of
14 providing malpractice insurance, and the lack of systems of
15 emergency medical care contribute to the access problems
16 experienced by these residents. While Illinois is not unique
17 in experiencing these problems, the need to maintain or
18 enhance the economies of these areas of the State requires
19 that new and innovative strategies be identified and
20 implemented to respond to the health care needs of residents
21 of these areas. It is therefore the intent of this General
22 Assembly to create a program to respond to this problem.
23 For purposes of this Act, "designated shortage areas"
24 means medically underserved areas or health manpower shortage
25 area as defined by the United States Department of Health and
26 Human Services or as otherwise designated by the Illinois
27 Department of Public Health.
28 (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)