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.

Effective Date: 1/1/2011