HB1674 Engrossed

LRB095 05217 CMK 25292 b






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    AN ACT concerning State government.

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


 
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    Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and 
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Duties Law of the
Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is 
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amended  by adding Section 216 as follows:
 
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    (20 ILCS 2310/216  new)
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    Sec. 216. Culturally Competent Healthcare Demonstration 
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Program.
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    (a)  Research demonstrates that many minority groups 
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receive health care that is of a lesser quality than the 
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majority population and have poorer health outcomes on a number 
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of measures.  The 2007 State Health Improvement Plan calls for 
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increased cultural competence in Illinois health care 
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settings, based on national standards that indicate cultural 
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competence is an important aspect of the quality of health care 
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delivered to racial, ethnic, religious, and other minority 
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groups experiencing disparate health outcomes as a result of a 
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lack of culturally sensitive health care.  Based on the research 
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and national standards, the General Assembly finds that 
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increasing cultural competence among health care providers 
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will improve the quality of health care delivered to minorities 
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in Illinois.
 


 






HB1674 Engrossed
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LRB095 05217 CMK 25292 b




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    (b)  Subject to appropriation for this purpose, the 
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Department shall establish the Culturally Competent Health 
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Care Demonstration Program.  For purposes of this Section, 
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"culturally competent health care" means the ability of health 
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care providers to understand and respond to the cultural and 
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linguistic needs brought by patients to the health care 
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encounter. The Program shall establish models that reflect best 
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practices in culturally competent health care and that expand 
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the delivery of culturally competent health care in Illinois.
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    (c) The Program shall consist of  (i) demonstration grants 
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awarded by the Department to public or private health care 
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entities geographically distributed around the State; (ii) an 
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ongoing collaborative learning project among the grantees; and 
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(iii) an evaluation of the effect of the demonstration grants 
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in improving the quality of health care for minorities.  The 
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Department may contract with a vendor with experience in racial 
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and ethnic health disparities and cultural competency to 
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conduct the evaluation and provide support for the 
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collaborative learning project.  The vendor shall be a 
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not-for-profit organization that represents a partnership of 
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public, private, and voluntary health organizations that 
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focuses on prevention, development of the public health system, 
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and reduction of racial and ethnic health disparities, and that 
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engages health disparities stakeholders in its efforts.
 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.