HB3571ham002 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Lakesia Collins

Filed: 3/20/2023

10300HB3571ham002 LRB103 29393 RJT 59380 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3571

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3571 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program Act.

Section 5. Purpose; findings.

(a) The purpose of this Act is to help licensed hospice programs recruit and retain qualified professionals and address this State's community-based hospice and palliative care workforce shortage. The goal of the program is to reduce disparities in access to critical health services for people who have serious illnesses or who are nearing the end of life.

(b) The General Assembly finds:

(1) Racial minorities are underrepresented as hospice and palliative care and interdisciplinary healthcare providers in the State.

(2) It is in the interest of the State to provide racial minorities priority in consideration for programs that encourage racial minority participation in hospice and palliative care and interdisciplinary healthcare providers.

(3) A workforce that is more reflective of the seriously ill population in a minority community can improve the use of hospice and palliative care services, which will address inequities in health outcomes for this population.

(4) It is necessary to give priority to applicants of racial minorities because of these findings.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

"Hospice and palliative care professional" means a person who is employed by a hospice program and is a physician, licensed advanced practice registered nurse, licensed registered nurse, licensed social worker, licensed clinical social worker, or licensed practical nurse.

"Hospice program" means a public agency or private organization, or subdivision of either, that is licensed by the State as a comprehensive hospice program as defined in the Hospice Program Licensing Act and is also Medicare-certified.

"Loan Repayment Program" means the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program established under this Act.

"Physician" means a person licensed by this State to practice medicine in all its branches and includes any physician holding a temporary license, as provided in the Medical Practice Act of 1987.

Section 15. Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program. The Commission shall establish between July 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, which shall be administered by the Commission. The program shall provide loan repayment assistance, subject to appropriation, to eligible hospice and palliative professionals practicing in a hospice program that provides services in the State.

Section 20. Applications. Each year, the Commission shall receive and consider applications for loan repayment assistance under this Act. All applications must be submitted to the Commission in a form and manner prescribed by the Commission. Applicants must submit any supporting documents deemed necessary by the Commission at the time of application.

Section 25. Award; maximum loan time; maximum amount. Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall award a grant to each qualified applicant for a maximum of 4 years. The Commission shall encourage the recipient of a grant awarded under this Act to use the grant award for payments towards the recipient's educational loans. The yearly appropriation for the program shall be divided as follows: (i) 10% toward awards for physicians; (ii) 10% toward awards for licensed advanced practice registered nurses; (iii) 42% toward awards for licensed registered nurses; (iv) 28% toward awards for licensed social workers and licensed clinical social workers; and (v) 10% toward awards for licensed practical nurses. The award amount shall be based on a percentage of an awardee's total outstanding loan balance. The maximum amount of any award shall not exceed 15% of the awardee's total outstanding loan balance for that award year. Any unawarded funds allocated to a professional group shall be distributed toward awards for a different professional group at the discretion of the Commission.

Section 30. Eligibility; work requirement.

(a) To be eligible for assistance under the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, the Commission must find that the applicant satisfies all of the following:

(1) the applicant is a United States citizen or an eligible noncitizen;

(2) the applicant is a resident of this State;

(3) the applicant has worked for at least 12 consecutive months as a hospice and palliative care professional in a hospice program in the State and has worked (i) at least 10 hours per week if the applicant is a physician, or (ii) at least 32 hours per week if the applicant is not a physician;

(4) the applicant is a borrower with an outstanding balance due on an educational loan; and

(5) the applicant has not defaulted on an educational loan.

(b) The Commission may grant preference to a previous recipient of a grant under the program, provided that the recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this Section.

(c) A recipient of a grant under the program must complete a separate 12-month period working in a hospice program in the State for each grant that the recipient is awarded and must, during that 12-month period, work (i) at least 10 hours per week if the applicant is a physician or (ii) at least 32 hours per week if the applicant is not a physician.

(d) If an appropriation for this program for a given fiscal year is insufficient to provide grants to all qualified applicants, the Commission shall allocate the appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds are insufficient to provide all qualified applicants with a grant as authorized by this Section, the Commission shall allocate the available grant funds for that fiscal year to qualified applicants who submit a complete application on or before a date specified by the Commission, based on the following order of priority:

(1) first, to new, qualified applicants or previous, qualified recipients of a grant who are members of a racial minority as defined in subsection (e); and

(2) second, to other new, qualified applicants or previous, qualified recipients of a grant in accordance with this Section.

(e) The Commission shall give priority to those applicants who are members of a racial minority, which means a person who is a citizen of the United States or a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States and who is:

(1) Black, or a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa;

(2) Hispanic, or a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race;

(3) Asian American, or a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands; or

(4) American Indian or Alaskan Native, or a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America.

Section 35. Administration; rules. The Commission shall administer the program and shall adopt rules not inconsistent with this Act to implement and administer this Act.

Section 40. Act inoperative. This Act is inoperative 10 years the effective date of the Act.

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