Bill Text: IL HB4923 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that subject to appropriation, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health (the Departments), shall establish and administer a Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program that awards annual grants to medical-legal partnerships that provide legal services without charge to assist low-income individuals and families in resolving legal matters or other needs that have a negative impact on their health. Provides that to be eligible for a grant under the program, a medical-legal partnership must demonstrate its ability and experience in providing high quality patient-centered legal services aimed at addressing their patient's health-harming social and legal needs. Requires selected medical-legal partnerships to also comply with standards and guidelines established by the Departments. Requires the Departments to seek input from legal services organizations, community health advocacy organizations, hospitals, and other health care providers in establishing such standards and guidelines. Provides that grant amounts may be used to expand the capacity of existing medical-legal partnerships to provide patients with wraparound services related to housing instability or homelessness, landlord-tenant mediation, income support and rental assistance, food insecurity, family stability, respite care, immigration, and mental health or substance use treatment. Provides that grant amounts may also be awarded to establish medical-legal partnerships in underserved communities. Provides that Community health centers, private or public hospitals, nonprofit legal aid organizations, behavioral health facilities, and other specified entities may apply for program grants. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to adopt rules. Requires the Department to apply for all federal approvals and waivers necessary to cover wraparound services provided by medical-legal partnerships to medical assistance recipients who have chronic health conditions and health-harming social and legal needs. Creates the Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program Fund under the State Finance Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-07 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB4923 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4923-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4923

Introduced , by Rep. Mary E. Flowers

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new
305 ILCS 5/5-55 new

Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code. Provides that subject to appropriation, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Public Health (the Departments), shall establish and administer a Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program that awards annual grants to medical-legal partnerships that provide legal services without charge to assist low-income individuals and families in resolving legal matters or other needs that have a negative impact on their health. Provides that to be eligible for a grant under the program, a medical-legal partnership must demonstrate its ability and experience in providing high quality patient-centered legal services aimed at addressing their patient's health-harming social and legal needs. Requires selected medical-legal partnerships to also comply with standards and guidelines established by the Departments. Requires the Departments to seek input from legal services organizations, community health advocacy organizations, hospitals, and other health care providers in establishing such standards and guidelines. Provides that grant amounts may be used to expand the capacity of existing medical-legal partnerships to provide patients with wraparound services related to housing instability or homelessness, landlord-tenant mediation, income support and rental assistance, food insecurity, family stability, respite care, immigration, and mental health or substance use treatment. Provides that grant amounts may also be awarded to establish medical-legal partnerships in underserved communities. Provides that Community health centers, private or public hospitals, nonprofit legal aid organizations, behavioral health facilities, and other specified entities may apply for program grants. Requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to adopt rules. Requires the Department to apply for all federal approvals and waivers necessary to cover wraparound services provided by medical-legal partnerships to medical assistance recipients who have chronic health conditions and health-harming social and legal needs. Creates the Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program Fund under the State Finance Act.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning public aid.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
5Section 5.1015 as follows:
6 (30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new)
7 Sec. 5.1015. The Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program
8Fund.
9 Section 10. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
10adding Section 5-55 as follows:
11 (305 ILCS 5/5-55 new)
12 Sec. 5-55. Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program.
13 (a) Definitions. As used in this Section:
14 "Departments" means the Departments of Healthcare and
15Family Services, Human Services, and Public Health.
16 "Medical-legal partnership" means a program conducted or
17established by a nonprofit entity through a collaboration
18pursuant to a written agreement between one or more medical
19service providers and one or more legal services programs,
20including those based within a law school, to provide legal
21services without charge to assist income-eligible individuals

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1and their families in resolving legal matters or other needs
2that have an impact on the health of such individuals and
3families. Written agreements may include a memorandum of
4understanding or other agreement relating to the operations of
5the partnership and encompassing the rights and
6responsibilities of each party thereto. The medical service
7provider or providers may provide referrals of its patients to
8the legal services program or programs on matters that may
9potentially impact the health, health care, or the health care
10costs of a patient.
11 (b) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Healthcare
12and Family Services, in collaboration with the Department of
13Human Services and the Department of Public Health, shall
14establish and administer a Medical-Legal Partnership Grant
15Program that awards annual grants to medical-legal
16partnerships located within the State that provide legal
17services without charge to assist low-income individuals and
18families in resolving legal matters or other needs that have a
19negative impact on their health. To be eligible for a grant
20under the program, a medical-legal partnership must
21demonstrate its ability and experience in providing high
22quality patient-centered legal services aimed at addressing
23their patient's health-harming social and legal needs.
24Selected medical-legal partnerships must also comply with
25standards and guidelines established for such partnerships as
26determined by the Departments. The Departments shall seek

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1input from legal services organizations, community health
2advocacy organizations, hospitals, diagnostic and treatment
3centers, and other primary and specialty health care providers
4in establishing such standards and guidelines.
5 (c) Grants amounts awarded under the program may be used
6to expand the capacity of existing medical-legal partnerships
7and increase programming for vulnerable individuals and
8families by, at a minimum:
9 (1) expanding their interdisciplinary team of
10 attorneys, physicians, and social workers to address
11 patients' health-harming social and legal needs;
12 (2) increasing patient access to patient-centered case
13 management services through the use of designated social
14 service navigators or care coordinators tasked with
15 assessing and identifying the patient's specific social
16 and legal needs before connecting the patient to
17 wraparound services related to housing instability or
18 homelessness, landlord-tenant mediation, income support
19 and rental assistance, food insecurity, family stability,
20 respite care, immigration, and mental health or substance
21 use treatment; and
22 (3) purchasing the technology and personnel needed to
23 facilitate remote and in-person legal consultations with
24 an attorney.
25 Grants amounts may also be awarded to establish
26medical-legal partnerships in underserved communities.

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1 (d) The following entities are eligible to apply for
2grants:
3 (1) Community health centers.
4 (2) Private or public hospitals.
5 (3) Nonprofit legal aid organizations.
6 (4) Public health clinics.
7 (5) Federally qualified health centers as defined in
8 Section 1905(l)(2)(B) of the federal Social Security Act.
9 (6) Behavioral health facilities.
10 (7) Law schools.
11 (e) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall
12adopt any rules necessary to implement the program including,
13but not limited to, rules on application and certification
14requirements for grant applicants and rules on reporting and
15data collection for grantees in order to enable the Department
16to track and ensure that grantees are utilizing grant funds
17consistent with the purposes of this Section.
18 (f) The Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program Fund is
19created as a special fund in the State treasury. The fund shall
20consist of any appropriations made to the Department of
21Healthcare and Family Services for the purpose of the
22Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program and all other moneys
23received for the fund from any other source. Moneys deposited
24into the fund shall be used for the Medical-Legal Partnership
25Grant Program and for no other purpose. All interest earned on
26moneys in the fund shall be deposited into the fund.

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