SB2400 amends the Illinois Hospice Program Licensing Act to require the Department of Public Health to create and operate a standardized statewide data collection system for hospice providers. The bill directs the Department to gather information on hospice patient demographics, service use, patient and family satisfaction, and hospice workforce conditions, including staff availability and turnover.
The measure also requires that the data be collected in compliance with applicable federal and state privacy laws. In addition to collecting the information, the Department must produce an annual report summarizing the findings and submit it to the Governor and General Assembly, while also publishing it on the Department’s website for public access.
Impact
If enacted, SB2400 would add a new Section 16 to the Hospice Program Licensing Act and expand the Illinois Department of Public Health’s responsibilities to include statewide hospice data reporting. It would not directly change eligibility for hospice services or provider licensing standards, but it would create a new administrative reporting framework affecting hospice providers and the Department. The bill would also make hospice-related demographic, utilization, satisfaction, and workforce data publicly available in aggregated form through an annual report.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or formal amendments, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill’s text, the measure appears policy-oriented and informational rather than regulatory or punitive, suggesting a generally neutral-to-supportive posture focused on transparency and health system oversight. The caption, “Hospice Data Collection,” also indicates a technical public-health reporting bill rather than a controversial substantive change.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill’s requirements, could include the administrative burden on hospice providers, the cost and logistics of standardized reporting, and privacy safeguards for patient-level information. Any debate would likely center on how much data must be reported, how surveys are administered, and whether the Department’s reporting requirements are sufficiently protective of confidentiality.