Illinois § 15

§ 15.

Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program. (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall establish a Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program to discharge the medical debt of eligible residents. (b) Under the pilot program, the Department shall provide grant funding to a nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to use the grant funds and any other private funds available to negotiate and settle, to the extent possible, the medical debt of eligible residents owed to hospitals and other health care providers and entities. The hospitals and other health care providers and entities may be located outside of the State of Illinois, so long as the negotiation and settlement of medical debt is on behalf of an eligible resident. (c) The Department shall establish the pilot program no later than January 1, 2025. The Department shall administer the pilot program consistent with the requirements of the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act to determine which nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator to use, unless the Department and the State's Grant Accountability and Transparency Unit determine that only a single nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator has the capacity and willingness to carry out the duties specified in this Act. The Department shall publish on its website any agreement, including amendments and attachments, entered into with a debt relief coordinator within 5 business days after the agreement or amendment was entered into by the Department. (d) The nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator shall: (1) Identify eligible residents who qualify for the pilot program. (2) Review the medical debt accounts of each commercial debt collection agency or health care provider willing to sell medical debt accounts of eligible residents. (3) Conduct an outreach pilot program with hospitals, hospital systems, and other providers and entities about the benefits of the Medical Debt Relief Pilot Program. Such outreach shall first be initiated with safety-net hospitals. (4) Negotiate and acquire medical debt of eligible residents from health care providers and medical debt collection agencies. (5) Within 60 days of the acquisition of an eligible resident's medical debt, notify all eligible residents whose medical debt has been discharged under the pilot program, in a manner approved by the Department, that they no longer have specified medical debt owed to the relevant health care provider or commercial debt collection agency. (6) Not attempt to seek payment from an eligible resident for medical debt purchased by the nonprofit medical debt relief coordinator. (7) To the extent possible, give priority to hospitals and providers who serve a high percentage of volume of Medicaid customers and providers located in disproportionately impacted area zip codes. (e) The Department shall provide an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly that includes, but is not limited to: (1) The amount of medical debt purchased and discharged under the pilot program. (2) The number of eligible residents who received medical debt relief under the pilot program. (3) The demographic characteristics of the eligible residents, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, income level, zip code, and insurance status. (4) The number and characteristics of health care providers from whom medical debt was purchased and discharged, including, but not limited to, geography and payor mix. (f) The Department shall adopt any rules necessary to implement this Act. (Source: P.A. 103-647, eff. 7-1-24.)