Bill
HB 3475
Creates a Certified Family Health Aide program to certify and reimburse legally responsible family caregivers for in-home medical tasks to support medically fragile individuals.
Status summary
- Bill number: HB 3475 (companion: SB 3006)
- Sponsor: Rep. Anne Stava‑Murray
- Introduced: February 18, 2025; filed Feb. 27, 2025
- Legislative actions (selected): Referred to committees (Rules; Higher Education; Appropriations – Health & Human Services); committee hearings April 29, 2025; reported favorably May 2, 2025; passed and read 3rd time May 15, 2025. (See full action list above for chronology.)
Purpose
- Creates a "Certified Family Health Aide" (CFHA) designation to recognize and enable compensation for legally responsible family caregivers (or persons designated by them) who provide complex in‑home nursing care to children and adults who are medically fragile or technology dependent. The stated intent is to reduce financial hardship when family caregivers reduce paid employment to provide necessary care and to support stable, long‑term in‑home care.
Key provisions and changes
- New Act titled the Certified Family Health Aide Program for Children and Adults Act.
- Adds/changes multiple Illinois statutes, including amendments to:
- Nurse Practice Act (210 ILCS 3/35),
- Alternative Health Care Delivery Act (210 ILCS 3/35),
- Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act,
- Illinois Public Aid Code (305 ILCS 5), creating a new Section (5-2.06b),
- Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) rulemaking authority.
- Establishes CFHA certification administered by IDFPR in partnership with the Department of Public Health and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS).
- Eligibility and scope:
- CFHA must be 18+ and be a legally responsible caregiver or a person designated by that caregiver.
- Permissible relationships enumerated (spouse, sibling/step‑sibling, parent/step‑parent/adoptive parent, grandparent, in‑laws, brother/sister‑in‑law, legal guardian, or designated caregiver).
- CFHAs may be certified to perform or assist with specified in‑home shift nursing services provided under EPSDT (42 CFR 441.50) or Section 1915(c) HCBS waivers for medically fragile/technology‑dependent individuals.
- Enumerated tasks include medication administration, tracheostomy care, enteral care/therapy, and other services defined by rule.
- Training and oversight:
- Certification pathway must include training and documentation; training may be provided by hospitals, children’s community‑based health care centers, or home nursing agencies.
- IDFPR may require background checks and must promulgate implementing rules.
- Home nursing agencies, hospitals, and children’s community‑based centers must follow recordkeeping and training requirements for caregivers being discharged to home care.
- Medicaid/Payment:
- Directs HFS to apply for a Home and Community‑Based Services (HCBS) State Plan amendment and necessary federal waiver amendments to permit Medicaid reimbursement to legally responsible caregivers or designated certified family health aides for eligible services.
Who would be affected
- Primary: family members or designated individuals (age 18+) providing care to children or adults who are medically fragile or technology dependent and who are eligible for in‑home shift nursing under EPSDT or a 1915(c) waiver.
- State agencies: IDFPR (certification and rulemaking), Department of Public Health (training standards), HFS (Medicaid waivers/SPAs, payment policy), home nursing agencies, hospitals, and children’s community‑based health care centers (training and recordkeeping).
- Medicaid program: potential expansion of reimbursable providers to include certified family caregivers, with possible budgetary implications.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Bill establishes rulemaking duties for IDFPR and requires HFS to seek federal approval (SPA/waiver) before Medicaid reimbursement can begin. Effective dates are not specified in the summary text; implementation will depend on rulemaking and federal approvals.
Potential impacts (high level)
- Could provide income to family caregivers and improve continuity of in‑home care.
- May change Medicaid expenditures depending on reimbursement rates and uptake; requires federal waiver/SPAs.
- Imposes training, certification, and recordkeeping requirements on providers and discharging facilities; expands regulatory oversight.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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