Text of IL SB 1679 (2026)

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1679 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Omar Aquino 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 08541 BAB 18593 b A BILL FOR SB1679LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 AN ACT concerning regulation. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Health 5Care Transparency Act. 6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 7 (1) The right of every patient to receive basic 8 information necessary to give full and informed consent is 9 a fundamental tenet of good public health policy and has 10 long been the established law of this State. 11 (2) Every person having ultimate responsibility for 12 decisions respecting their own health care also possesses 13 a concomitant right of access to complete information 14 respecting their condition and care provided. 15 (3) For nonmedical reasons, some health care 16 facilities do not provide a full range of health care 17 services and may prohibit, significantly restrict, or 18 otherwise refuse to provide services such as 19 sterilization, infertility treatments, abortion, or 20 contraceptive services, including emergency 21 contraception. 22 (4) Health care facilities may also deny or 23 selectively restrict care relating to stigmatized SB1679- 2 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, 2 transgender, and queer individuals, for nonmedical reasons 3 even if equivalent procedures are provided for other 4 patients. 5 (5) Persons seeking health care frequently lack 6 information about which facilities refuse to provide 7 various health care services for nonmedical reasons and 8 what services they restrict or refuse to provide. 9 (6) Patients are not well-positioned to understand 10 what treatment options are available to them when health 11 facilities do not disclose treatment options that they 12 refuse to provide for nonmedical reasons. 13 (7) Consequently, when health care facilities do not 14 disclose that they restrict or refuse to provide various 15 health care services for nonmedical reasons, they can 16 deprive patients of a knowledgeable choice as to 17 alternative treatments, which is inconsistent with the 18 underlying principle of informed consent. 19 (8) Refusals to provide health care services for 20 nonmedical reasons may: 21 (A) have long-term negative consequences, 22 resulting in injury, disability, and death; 23 (B) cause trauma to patients; 24 (C) impact quality of life; 25 (D) result in greater health care expenses for 26 patient and payers; and SB1679- 3 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 (E) some denials of care violate State and federal 2 law. 3 (9) It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure 4 that patients are given full information about available 5 health care services frequently subject to denial of care 6 for nonmedical reasons to allow them to make well-informed 7 health care decisions. 8 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: 9 "Covered entity" means any hospital required to be 10licensed by the Department of Public Health pursuant to the 11Hospital Licensing Act that provides general medical and 12surgical hospital services, except long-term acute care 13hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals; any ambulatory 14surgical treatment center licensed under the Ambulatory 15Surgical Treatment Center Act; and any freestanding emergency 16center licensed under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) 17Systems Act. "Covered entity" does not include a health care 18practitioner. 19 "Department" means the Department of Public Health. 20 "Denial of care" means any refusal by a covered entity to 21provide a health care service for nonmedical reasons or to 22provide a referral for a health care service for nonmedical 23reasons. "Denial of care" includes the following practices, 24whether based on formal or informal policies or practices, 25that are not based on generally accepted standards of care: SB1679- 4 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 (1) selective refusal to provide a health care service 2 to some, but not all, patients based on a protected 3 characteristic described in paragraph (A) of Section 1-102 4 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, objections to a health 5 care service, or some other nonmedical reason; or 6 (2) a significant restriction on the availability of 7 specific health care services. 8 "Disclosure form" means the form created by the Department 9and completed by covered entities pursuant to this Act. 10 "End-of-life health care services" means any medical, 11surgical, preventive, counseling, or referral services 12provided to an individual who is near the end of life or who 13has a terminal illness. "End-of-life health care services" 14includes any services relating to palliative care, advanced 15directives, withdrawal of nutrition services, and hospice 16care. 17 "Health care practitioner" means any health care 18professional licensed to provide health care services. 19 "Health care service" means the provision of treatment, 20care, advice or guidance, or services or supplies, including; 21 (1) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, 22 rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care; 23 (2) counseling, assessment, procedures, or other 24 services; or 25 (3) selling, dispensing, or administering a 26 prescription or nonprescription drug, device, or SB1679- 5 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 equipment. 2 "LGBTQ health care services" means any medical, surgical, 3preventive, counseling, or referral services that are 4specifically targeted to or that disproportionately affect 5lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer individuals, 6including gender-affirming care, HIV-related care, and 7family-building services. 8 "Nonmedical reasons" means nonclinical criteria, rules, or 9policies, whether written or unwritten, that restrict health 10care practitioners at a covered entity from providing a health 11care service that a health care practitioner is authorized 12under law to provide and that the covered entity is licensed to 13provide. 14 "Reproductive health care services" means any medical, 15surgical, preventive, counseling, or referral services 16relating to the human reproductive system, including services 17relating to contraception, sterilization, assisted 18reproduction, maternity care, pregnancy, and the termination 19of a pregnancy. 20 Section 15. Departmental duties. 21 (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Department shall, 22in consultation with stakeholders, including a hospital 23association, patient advocacy groups, and groups representing 24populations that are disproportionately impacted by denial of 25care: SB1679- 6 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 (1) identify reproductive health care services, LGBTQ 2 health care services, and end-of-life health care services 3 that are or may be subject to denial of care in the State; 4 and 5 (2) develop a clear and simple disclosure form for the 6 purpose of conveying to patients and to the public which 7 of the identified health care services are and are not 8 generally available, are subject to restriction for 9 nonmedical reasons, and are subject to restrictions on 10 referral at each covered entity. 11 (A) This disclosure form must include contact 12 information for the covered entity completing the form 13 in case patients have specific questions about 14 services available at the covered entity. 15 (B) The Department shall review and, if 16 appropriate, update this form at least biennially in 17 consultation with stakeholders. The Department may 18 develop versions of the disclosure form appropriate 19 for different categories of covered entities. 20 (b) Beginning on or before March 1, 2026, the Department 21shall publish and maintain on its public-facing website a 22current list of covered entities and shall provide for public 23access the disclosure form submitted by each covered entity. 24The Department may use various methods of displaying the 25information to enable patients to compare services by covered 26entities. SB1679- 7 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 (c) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this 2Section. The Department's rules must include a process for 3receiving and investigating complaints regarding covered 4entities that fail to comply with this Section and for 5assessing fines against covered entities. 6 (d) The Department shall develop and administer to the 7public an education and awareness program regarding how denial 8of care: 9 (1) may negatively impact health care access and 10 quality; 11 (2) may be avoided; and 12 (3) affects vulnerable people and communities. 13 Section 20. Covered entity duties. 14 (a) Not later than 60 days after the Department issues or 15updates the disclosure form, each covered entity shall submit 16a completed disclosure form to the Department. A covered 17entity shall also submit an updated disclosure form within 30 18days after making a change to the availability of a health care 19service identified on the disclosure form. 20 (b) Not later than March 1, 2026, each covered entity 21shall adopt a policy for providing patients with its completed 22disclosure form as part of the informed consent process prior 23to the initiation of health care services and for recording 24the patient's receipt of the form. The covered entity's policy 25must also require health care practitioners who maintain SB1679- 8 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1admitting privileges at a covered entity and refer or schedule 2their patients to receive health care services at the covered 3entity to provide the covered entity's disclosure form to the 4patient or the patient's representative prior to referring or 5scheduling their patients to receive health care services at 6the covered entity. 7 (c) On and after March 1, 2026, each covered entity shall: 8 (1) provide the current disclosure form to the patient 9 or the patient's representative as part of the informed 10 consent process before any health care service is 11 initiated. If informed consent is impracticable because of 12 an emergency or other circumstance, the covered entity may 13 delay the provision of the disclosure form, as 14 appropriate, until the informed consent process is 15 conducted; 16 (2) maintain a record of a patient's or the patient's 17 representative's receipt of the disclosure form as part of 18 the informed consent process; and 19 (3) provide its completed disclosure form to any 20 person upon request. 21 Section 25. Construction. 22 (a) This Act does not: 23 (1) permit or authorize restrictions on health care 24 services for nonmedical reasons or discrimination in the 25 provision of health care services; or SB1679- 9 -LRB104 08541 BAB 18593 b 1 (2) limit any cause of action under State or federal 2 law, nor limit any remedy in law or equity, against a 3 covered entity, health care practitioner, or provider of a 4 health benefit plan. 5 (b) Compliance with this Act does not reduce or limit any 6potential liability for a covered entity, health care 7practitioner, or provider of a health benefit plan associated 8with restrictions on health care services for nonmedical 9reasons or any violations of State or federal law. 10 (c) Neither the Health Care Right of Conscience Act nor 11the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shall provide a claim 12concerning or a defense to a claim under this Act nor shall 13those Acts provide a basis for challenging the application or 14enforcement of this Act or funds appropriated or expended in 15operation of this Act. 16 Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are 17severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. 18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 19becoming law.