Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2904 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2904 Introduced , by Rep. Dagmara Avelar SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Health Care Transparency Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ health care services, and end-of-life health care services that are or may be subject to denial of care for nonmedical reasons in the State and develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which of the identified health care services are and are not generally available, are subject to restriction for nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on referral by each covered entity. Requires the Department to publish and maintain on its public-facing website a current list of covered entities and provide for public access to the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity; adopt rules implementing the Department's duties; and develop and administer to the public an education and awareness program regarding how denial of care may negatively impact health care access and quality, may be avoided, and affects vulnerable people and communities. Establishes disclosure requirements for covered entities. Effective immediately. LRB104 05596 BAB 15626 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2904 Introduced , by Rep. Dagmara Avelar SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act New Act Creates the Health Care Transparency Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ health care services, and end-of-life health care services that are or may be subject to denial of care for nonmedical reasons in the State and develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which of the identified health care services are and are not generally available, are subject to restriction for nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on referral by each covered entity. Requires the Department to publish and maintain on its public-facing website a current list of covered entities and provide for public access to the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity; adopt rules implementing the Department's duties; and develop and administer to the public an education and awareness program regarding how denial of care may negatively impact health care access and quality, may be avoided, and affects vulnerable people and communities. Establishes disclosure requirements for covered entities. Effective immediately. LRB104 05596 BAB 15626 b LRB104 05596 BAB 15626 b A BILL FOR
2	2	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2904 Introduced , by Rep. Dagmara Avelar SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
3	3	New Act New Act
4	4	New Act
5	5	Creates the Health Care Transparency Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ health care services, and end-of-life health care services that are or may be subject to denial of care for nonmedical reasons in the State and develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which of the identified health care services are and are not generally available, are subject to restriction for nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on referral by each covered entity. Requires the Department to publish and maintain on its public-facing website a current list of covered entities and provide for public access to the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity; adopt rules implementing the Department's duties; and develop and administer to the public an education and awareness program regarding how denial of care may negatively impact health care access and quality, may be avoided, and affects vulnerable people and communities. Establishes disclosure requirements for covered entities. Effective immediately.
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8	8	A BILL FOR
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10	10	HB2904 LRB104 05596 BAB 15626 b
11	11	1 AN ACT concerning regulation.
12	12	2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
13	13	3 represented in the General Assembly:
14	14	4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Health
15	15	5 Care Transparency Act.
16	16	6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
17	17	7 (1) The right of every patient to receive basic
18	18	8 information necessary to give full and informed consent is
19	19	9 a fundamental tenet of good public health policy and has
20	20	10 long been the established law of this State.
21	21	11 (2) Every person having ultimate responsibility for
22	22	12 decisions respecting their own health care also possesses
23	23	13 a concomitant right of access to complete information
24	24	14 respecting their condition and care provided.
25	25	15 (3) For nonmedical reasons, some health care
26	26	16 facilities do not provide a full range of health care
27	27	17 services and may prohibit, significantly restrict, or
28	28	18 otherwise refuse to provide services such as
29	29	19 sterilization, infertility treatments, abortion, or
30	30	20 contraceptive services, including emergency
31	31	21 contraception.
32	32	22 (4) Health care facilities may also deny or
33	33	23 selectively restrict care relating to stigmatized
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37	37	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2904 Introduced , by Rep. Dagmara Avelar SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
38	38	New Act New Act
39	39	New Act
40	40	Creates the Health Care Transparency Act. Provides that the Department of Public Health shall identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ health care services, and end-of-life health care services that are or may be subject to denial of care for nonmedical reasons in the State and develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which of the identified health care services are and are not generally available, are subject to restriction for nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on referral by each covered entity. Requires the Department to publish and maintain on its public-facing website a current list of covered entities and provide for public access to the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity; adopt rules implementing the Department's duties; and develop and administer to the public an education and awareness program regarding how denial of care may negatively impact health care access and quality, may be avoided, and affects vulnerable people and communities. Establishes disclosure requirements for covered entities. Effective immediately.
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68	68	1 populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual,
69	69	2 transgender, and queer individuals, for nonmedical reasons
70	70	3 even if equivalent procedures are provided for other
71	71	4 patients.
72	72	5 (5) Persons seeking health care frequently lack
73	73	6 information about which facilities refuse to provide
74	74	7 various health care services for nonmedical reasons and
75	75	8 what services they restrict or refuse to provide.
76	76	9 (6) Patients are not well-positioned to understand
77	77	10 what treatment options are available to them when health
78	78	11 facilities do not disclose treatment options that they
79	79	12 refuse to provide for nonmedical reasons.
80	80	13 (7) Consequently, when health care facilities do not
81	81	14 disclose that they restrict or refuse to provide various
82	82	15 health care services for nonmedical reasons, they can
83	83	16 deprive patients of a knowledgeable choice as to
84	84	17 alternative treatments, which is inconsistent with the
85	85	18 underlying principle of informed consent.
86	86	19 (8) Refusals to provide health care services for
87	87	20 nonmedical reasons may:
88	88	21 (A) have long-term negative consequences,
89	89	22 resulting in injury, disability, and death;
90	90	23 (B) cause trauma to patients;
91	91	24 (C) impact quality of life;
92	92	25 (D) result in greater health care expenses for
93	93	26 patient and payers; and
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104	104	1 (E) some denials of care violate State and federal
105	105	2 law.
106	106	3 (9) It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure
107	107	4 that patients are given full information about available
108	108	5 health care services frequently subject to denial of care
109	109	6 for nonmedical reasons to allow them to make well-informed
110	110	7 health care decisions.
111	111	8 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
112	112	9 "Covered entity" means any hospital required to be
113	113	10 licensed by the Department of Public Health pursuant to the
114	114	11 Hospital Licensing Act that provides general medical and
115	115	12 surgical hospital services, except long-term acute care
116	116	13 hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals; any ambulatory
117	117	14 surgical treatment center licensed under the Ambulatory
118	118	15 Surgical Treatment Center Act; and any freestanding emergency
119	119	16 center licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
120	120	17 Systems Act. "Covered entity" does not include a health care
121	121	18 practitioner.
122	122	19 "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
123	123	20 "Denial of care" means any refusal by a covered entity to
124	124	21 provide a health care service for nonmedical reasons or to
125	125	22 provide a referral for a health care service for nonmedical
126	126	23 reasons. "Denial of care" includes the following practices,
127	127	24 whether based on formal or informal policies or practices,
128	128	25 that are not based on generally accepted standards of care:
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139	139	1 (1) selective refusal to provide a health care service
140	140	2 to some, but not all, patients based on a protected
141	141	3 characteristic described in paragraph (A) of Section 1-102
142	142	4 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, objections to a health
143	143	5 care service, or some other nonmedical reason; or
144	144	6 (2) a significant restriction on the availability of
145	145	7 specific health care services.
146	146	8 "Disclosure form" means the form created by the Department
147	147	9 and completed by covered entities pursuant to this Act.
148	148	10 "End-of-life health care services" means any medical,
149	149	11 surgical, preventive, counseling, or referral services
150	150	12 provided to an individual who is near the end of life or who
151	151	13 has a terminal illness. "End-of-life health care services"
152	152	14 includes any services relating to palliative care, advanced
153	153	15 directives, withdrawal of nutrition services, and hospice
154	154	16 care.
155	155	17 "Health care practitioner" means any health care
156	156	18 professional licensed to provide health care services.
157	157	19 "Health care service" means the provision of treatment,
158	158	20 care, advice or guidance, or services or supplies, including;
159	159	21 (1) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic,
160	160	22 rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care;
161	161	23 (2) counseling, assessment, procedures, or other
162	162	24 services; or
163	163	25 (3) selling, dispensing, or administering a
164	164	26 prescription or nonprescription drug, device, or
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175	175	1 equipment.
176	176	2 "LGBTQ health care services" means any medical, surgical,
177	177	3 preventive, counseling, or referral services that are
178	178	4 specifically targeted to or that disproportionately affect
179	179	5 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer individuals,
180	180	6 including gender-affirming care, HIV-related care, and
181	181	7 family-building services.
182	182	8 "Nonmedical reasons" means nonclinical criteria, rules, or
183	183	9 policies, whether written or unwritten, that restrict health
184	184	10 care practitioners at a covered entity from providing a health
185	185	11 care service that a health care practitioner is authorized
186	186	12 under law to provide and that the covered entity is licensed to
187	187	13 provide.
188	188	14 "Reproductive health care services" means any medical,
189	189	15 surgical, preventive, counseling, or referral services
190	190	16 relating to the human reproductive system, including services
191	191	17 relating to contraception, sterilization, assisted
192	192	18 reproduction, maternity care, pregnancy, and the termination
193	193	19 of a pregnancy.
194	194	20 Section 15. Departmental duties.
195	195	21 (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Department shall,
196	196	22 in consultation with stakeholders, including a hospital
197	197	23 association, patient advocacy groups, and groups representing
198	198	24 populations that are disproportionately impacted by denial of
199	199	25 care:
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210	210	1 (1) identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ
211	211	2 health care services, and end-of-life health care services
212	212	3 that are or may be subject to denial of care in the State;
213	213	4 and
214	214	5 (2) develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the
215	215	6 purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which
216	216	7 of the identified health care services are and are not
217	217	8 generally available, are subject to restriction for
218	218	9 nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on
219	219	10 referral at each covered entity.
220	220	11 (A) This disclosure form must include contact
221	221	12 information for the covered entity completing the form
222	222	13 in case patients have specific questions about
223	223	14 services available at the covered entity.
224	224	15 (B) The Department shall review and, if
225	225	16 appropriate, update this form at least biennially in
226	226	17 consultation with stakeholders. The Department may
227	227	18 develop versions of the disclosure form appropriate
228	228	19 for different categories of covered entities.
229	229	20 (b) Beginning on or before March 1, 2026, the Department
230	230	21 shall publish and maintain on its public-facing website a
231	231	22 current list of covered entities and shall provide for public
232	232	23 access the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity.
233	233	24 The Department may use various methods of displaying the
234	234	25 information to enable patients to compare services by covered
235	235	26 entities.
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246	246	1 (c) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this
247	247	2 Section. The Department's rules must include a process for
248	248	3 receiving and investigating complaints regarding covered
249	249	4 entities that fail to comply with this Section and for
250	250	5 assessing fines against covered entities.
251	251	6 (d) The Department shall develop and administer to the
252	252	7 public an education and awareness program regarding how denial
253	253	8 of care:
254	254	9 (1) may negatively impact health care access and
255	255	10 quality;
256	256	11 (2) may be avoided; and
257	257	12 (3) affects vulnerable people and communities.
258	258	13 Section 20. Covered entity duties.
259	259	14 (a) Not later than 60 days after the Department issues or
260	260	15 updates the disclosure form, each covered entity shall submit
261	261	16 a completed disclosure form to the Department. A covered
262	262	17 entity shall also submit an updated disclosure form within 30
263	263	18 days after making a change to the availability of a health care
264	264	19 service identified on the disclosure form.
265	265	20 (b) Not later than March 1, 2026, each covered entity
266	266	21 shall adopt a policy for providing patients with its completed
267	267	22 disclosure form as part of the informed consent process prior
268	268	23 to the initiation of health care services and for recording
269	269	24 the patient's receipt of the form. The covered entity's policy
270	270	25 must also require health care practitioners who maintain
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281	281	1 admitting privileges at a covered entity and refer or schedule
282	282	2 their patients to receive health care services at the covered
283	283	3 entity to provide the covered entity's disclosure form to the
284	284	4 patient or the patient's representative prior to referring or
285	285	5 scheduling their patients to receive health care services at
286	286	6 the covered entity.
287	287	7 (c) On and after March 1, 2026, each covered entity shall:
288	288	8 (1) provide the current disclosure form to the patient
289	289	9 or the patient's representative as part of the informed
290	290	10 consent process before any health care service is
291	291	11 initiated. If informed consent is impracticable because of
292	292	12 an emergency or other circumstance, the covered entity may
293	293	13 delay the provision of the disclosure form, as
294	294	14 appropriate, until the informed consent process is
295	295	15 conducted;
296	296	16 (2) maintain a record of a patient's or the patient's
297	297	17 representative's receipt of the disclosure form as part of
298	298	18 the informed consent process; and
299	299	19 (3) provide its completed disclosure form to any
300	300	20 person upon request.
301	301	21 Section 25. Construction.
302	302	22 (a) This Act does not:
303	303	23 (1) permit or authorize restrictions on health care
304	304	24 services for nonmedical reasons or discrimination in the
305	305	25 provision of health care services; or
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316	316	1 (2) limit any cause of action under State or federal
317	317	2 law, nor limit any remedy in law or equity, against a
318	318	3 covered entity, health care practitioner, or provider of a
319	319	4 health benefit plan.
320	320	5 (b) Compliance with this Act does not reduce or limit any
321	321	6 potential liability for a covered entity, health care
322	322	7 practitioner, or provider of a health benefit plan associated
323	323	8 with restrictions on health care services for nonmedical
324	324	9 reasons or any violations of State or federal law.
325	325	10 (c) Neither the Health Care Right of Conscience Act nor
326	326	11 the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shall provide a claim
327	327	12 concerning or a defense to a claim under this Act nor shall
328	328	13 those Acts provide a basis for challenging the application or
329	329	14 enforcement of this Act or funds appropriated or expended in
330	330	15 operation of this Act.
331	331	16 Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
332	332	17 severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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