Good morning, Healthcare Council. There are still 447 bills awaiting action by the Governor, and there are 91 days until the Nov. 6 election. On to the update!
Sen. Steans and Rep. Cassidy to Headline Next Quarterly Meeting
The next quarterly meeting of the Healthcare Council will take place at 10 am on Thursday, Sept. 6 at the Chamber offices at 300 S. Wacker Drive, 8th Floor in Chicago. We are pleased to be joined by Illinois state Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy to discuss their legislative efforts regarding marijuana - both as a substitute for opioids and the broader legalization push.
We'll also be joined by
Peter Steinmeyer, a member of
Epstein Becker & Green, P.C in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, to discuss the workplace implications of increased utilization of legal marijuana.
Because of the timeliness and cross-cutting nature of this public policy discussion, we are honored to co-host the quarterly meeting with the Chamber's Employment Law Council.
Healthcare and Employment Law Councils Joint Quarterly Meeting
Thursday, September 6, 2018
10 am - Noon
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
300 S. Wacker
8th Floor
Chicago, IL
Feds Finalize Short-Term Medical Insurance Rule
Last week the U.S. departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury issued their final rule expanding short-term medical health insurance policies. The rule authorizes policies that are less than 12 months, but allows for renewals up to 36 months. The final rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
In Illinois, two pieces of legislation passed the General Assembly this session that would further regulate short-term medical policies. HB2624 is stand-alone legislation that would include capping short-term policies to 181 days and require additional consumer disclosures. The language also was included in SB1737. Both bills are currently awaiting gubernatorial action.
JCAR Update
Last week the Department of Aging proposed amendments to Adult Protection and Advocacy Services (89 IAC 270; 42 Ill Reg 14309) updating its rules for the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and its references to federal regulations. (The LongTerm Care Ombudsman Program trains persons to serve as advocates for recipients of facility-based, community-based or home-based long term care when the recipients have concerns or complaints.) The rulemaking includes definitions, an explanation of the program's structure and goals, an outline of involved agencies' responsibilities (e.g., the Regional Ombudsman, the Area Agency on Aging, the provider agency), provisions for ombudsmens' access to resident and participant information and records, complaint investigation procedures, and procedures to address willful interference with the duties of the ombudsman.
DHS also proposed amendments to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (89 IAC 112; 42 Ill Reg 14263), Aid to the Aged, Blind or Disabled (89 IAC 113; 42 Ill Reg 14279), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (89 IAC 121; 42 Ill Reg 14296) that exempt Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings accounts for persons with disabilities from consideration as assets in determining financial eligibility for TANF, AABD or SNAP.
