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92_HB6040
LRB9214424AGmbA
1 AN ACT concerning senior health assistance.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Act on the Aging is amended by
5 changing Section 4.01 as follows:
6 (20 ILCS 105/4.01) (from Ch. 23, par. 6104.01)
7 Sec. 4.01. Additional powers and duties of the
8 Department. In addition to powers and duties otherwise
9 provided by law, the Department shall have the following
10 powers and duties:
11 (1) To evaluate all programs, services, and facilities
12 for the aged and for minority senior citizens within the
13 State and determine the extent to which present public or
14 private programs, services and facilities meet the needs of
15 the aged.
16 (2) To coordinate and evaluate all programs, services,
17 and facilities for the Aging and for minority senior citizens
18 presently furnished by State agencies and make appropriate
19 recommendations regarding such services, programs and
20 facilities to the Governor and/or the General Assembly.
21 (3) To function as the sole State agency to develop a
22 comprehensive plan to meet the needs of the State's senior
23 citizens and the State's minority senior citizens.
24 (4) To receive and disburse State and federal funds made
25 available directly to the Department including those funds
26 made available under the Older Americans Act and the Senior
27 Community Service Employment Program for providing services
28 for senior citizens and minority senior citizens or for
29 purposes related thereto, and shall develop and administer
30 any State Plan for the Aging required by federal law.
31 (5) To solicit, accept, hold, and administer in behalf
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1 of the State any grants or legacies of money, securities, or
2 property to the State of Illinois for services to senior
3 citizens and minority senior citizens or purposes related
4 thereto.
5 (6) To provide consultation and assistance to
6 communities, area agencies on aging, and groups developing
7 local services for senior citizens and minority senior
8 citizens.
9 (7) To promote community education regarding the
10 problems of senior citizens and minority senior citizens
11 through institutes, publications, radio, television and the
12 local press.
13 (8) To cooperate with agencies of the federal government
14 in studies and conferences designed to examine the needs of
15 senior citizens and minority senior citizens and to prepare
16 programs and facilities to meet those needs.
17 (9) To establish and maintain information and referral
18 sources throughout the State when not provided by other
19 agencies.
20 (10) To provide the staff support as may reasonably be
21 required by the Council and the Coordinating Committee of
22 State Agencies Serving Older Persons.
23 (11) To make and enforce rules and regulations necessary
24 and proper to the performance of its duties.
25 (12) To establish and fund programs or projects or
26 experimental facilities that are specially designed as
27 alternatives to institutional care.
28 (13) To develop a training program to train the
29 counselors presently employed by the Department's aging
30 network to provide Medicare beneficiaries with counseling and
31 advocacy in Medicare, private health insurance, and related
32 health care coverage plans. The Department shall report to
33 the General Assembly on the implementation of the training
34 program on or before December 1, 1986.
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1 (14) To make a grant to an institution of higher
2 learning to study the feasibility of establishing and
3 implementing an affirmative action employment plan for the
4 recruitment, hiring, training and retraining of persons 60 or
5 more years old for jobs for which their employment would not
6 be precluded by law.
7 (15) To present one award annually in each of the
8 categories of community service, education, the performance
9 and graphic arts, and the labor force to outstanding Illinois
10 senior citizens and minority senior citizens in recognition
11 of their individual contributions to either community
12 service, education, the performance and graphic arts, or the
13 labor force. The awards shall be presented to four senior
14 citizens and minority senior citizens selected from a list of
15 44 nominees compiled annually by the Department. Nominations
16 shall be solicited from senior citizens' service providers,
17 area agencies on aging, senior citizens' centers, and senior
18 citizens' organizations. The Department shall consult with
19 the Coordinating Committee of State Agencies Serving Older
20 Persons to determine which of the nominees shall be the
21 recipient in each category of community service. The
22 Department shall establish a central location within the
23 State to be designated as the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame
24 for the public display of all the annual awards, or replicas
25 thereof.
26 (16) To establish multipurpose senior centers through
27 area agencies on aging and to fund those new and existing
28 multipurpose senior centers through area agencies on aging,
29 the establishment and funding to begin in such areas of the
30 State as the Department shall designate by rule and as
31 specifically appropriated funds become available.
32 (17) To develop the content and format of the
33 acknowledgment regarding non-recourse reverse mortgage loans
34 under Section 6.1 of the Illinois Banking Act; to provide
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1 independent consumer information on reverse mortgages and
2 alternatives; and to refer consumers to independent
3 counseling services with expertise in reverse mortgages.
4 (18) To develop a pamphlet in English and Spanish which
5 may be used by physicians licensed to practice medicine in
6 all of its branches pursuant to the Medical Practice Act of
7 1987, pharmacists licensed pursuant to the Pharmacy Practice
8 Act of 1987, and Illinois residents 65 years of age or older
9 for the purpose of assisting physicians, pharmacists, and
10 patients in monitoring prescriptions provided by various
11 physicians and to aid persons 65 years of age or older in
12 complying with directions for proper use of pharmaceutical
13 prescriptions. The pamphlet may provide space for recording
14 information including but not limited to the following:
15 (a) name and telephone number of the patient;
16 (b) name and telephone number of the prescribing
17 physician;
18 (c) date of prescription;
19 (d) name of drug prescribed;
20 (e) directions for patient compliance; and
21 (f) name and telephone number of dispensing
22 pharmacy.
23 In developing the pamphlet, the Department shall consult
24 with the Illinois State Medical Society, the Center for
25 Minority Health Services, the Illinois Pharmacists
26 Association and senior citizens organizations. The
27 Department shall distribute the pamphlets to physicians,
28 pharmacists and persons 65 years of age or older or various
29 senior citizen organizations throughout the State.
30 (19) To conduct a study by April 1, 1994 of the
31 feasibility of implementing the Senior Companion Program
32 throughout the State for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
33 1994.
34 (20) With respect to contracts in effect on July 1,
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1 1994, the Department shall increase the grant amounts so that
2 the reimbursement rates paid through the community care
3 program for chore housekeeping services and homemakers are at
4 the same rate, which shall be the higher of the 2 rates
5 currently paid. With respect to all contracts entered into,
6 renewed, or extended on or after July 1, 1994, the
7 reimbursement rates paid through the community care program
8 for chore housekeeping services and homemakers shall be the
9 same.
10 (21) From funds appropriated to the Department from the
11 Meals on Wheels Fund, a special fund in the State treasury
12 that is hereby created, and in accordance with State and
13 federal guidelines and the intrastate funding formula, to
14 make grants to area agencies on aging, designated by the
15 Department, for the sole purpose of delivering meals to
16 homebound persons 60 years of age and older.
17 (22) To distribute, through its area agencies on aging,
18 information alerting seniors on safety issues regarding
19 emergency weather conditions, including extreme heat and
20 cold, flooding, tornadoes, electrical storms, and other
21 severe storm weather. The information shall include all
22 necessary instructions for safety and all emergency telephone
23 numbers of organizations that will provide additional
24 information and assistance.
25 (23) To develop guidelines for the organization and
26 implementation of Volunteer Services Credit Programs to be
27 administered by Area Agencies on Aging or community based
28 senior service organizations. The Department shall hold
29 public hearings on the proposed guidelines for public
30 comment, suggestion, and determination of public interest.
31 The guidelines shall be based on the findings of other states
32 and of community organizations in Illinois that are currently
33 operating volunteer services credit programs or demonstration
34 volunteer services credit programs. The Department shall
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1 offer guidelines for all aspects of the programs including,
2 but not limited to, the following:
3 (a) types of services to be offered by volunteers;
4 (b) types of services to be received upon the
5 redemption of service credits;
6 (c) issues of liability for the volunteers and the
7 administering organizations;
8 (d) methods of tracking service credits earned and
9 service credits redeemed;
10 (e) issues of time limits for redemption of service
11 credits;
12 (f) methods of recruitment of volunteers;
13 (g) utilization of community volunteers, community
14 service groups, and other resources for delivering
15 services to be received by service credit program
16 clients;
17 (h) accountability and assurance that services will
18 be available to individuals who have earned service
19 credits; and
20 (i) volunteer screening and qualifications.
21 The Department shall submit a written copy of the guidelines
22 to the General Assembly by July 1, 1998.
23 (24) Senior Health Assistance Outreach Program. The
24 Department shall, with funds appropriated to Department for
25 this specific purpose, establish a statewide senior health
26 assistance outreach program. The Department shall work
27 cooperatively with other Departments that fund senior health
28 assistance, including assistance with prescription drugs, to
29 insure maximum coordination. The Department shall by rule
30 determine the allocation of all funds received for this
31 purpose. The statewide senior health assistance outreach
32 program shall include a one-stop-shopping clearinghouse for
33 all information regarding prescription drug coverage programs
34 and other health assistance benefits available to seniors in
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1 Illinois. The clearinghouse shall be operated in conjunction
2 with the Department's toll free senior information program.
3 All clearinghouse personnel shall receive training on
4 prescription drug assistance programs in addition to any
5 other training provided.
6 (Source: P.A. 89-249, eff. 8-4-95; 89-580, eff. 1-1-97;
7 90-251, eff. 1-1-98; revised 12-07-01.)
8 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9 becoming law.