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91_HB2332 LRB9104565DJcd 1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Rural/Downstate Health Act 2 by changing Section 2. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Illinois Rural/Downstate Health Act is 6 amended by changing Section 2 as follows: 7 (410 ILCS 65/2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 8052) 8 Sec. 2. Findings; definition. The General Assembly finds 9 that citizens in the rural, downstate and designated shortage 10 areas of this State are increasingly faced with problems in 11 accessing necessary health care. The closure of small rural 12 hospitals, the inability of these areas to attract new 13 physicians, the elimination of existing physician services 14 because of increasing practice costs, including the cost of 15 providing malpractice insurance, and the lack of systems of 16 emergency medical care contribute to the access problems 17 experiencedexperienceby these residents. While Illinois is 18 not unique in experiencing these problems, the need to 19 maintain or enhance the economies of these areas of the State 20 requires that new and innovative strategies be identified and 21 implemented to respond to the health care needs of residents 22 of these areas. It is therefore the intent of this General 23 Assembly to create a program to respond to this problem. 24 For purposes of this Act, "designated shortage areas" 25 means medically underserved areas or health manpower shortage 26 area as defined by the United States Department of Health and 27 Human Services or as otherwise designated by the Illinois 28 Department of Public Health. 29 (Source: P.A. 86-965; 86-1187; revised 10-31-98.)