Bill
HB 2489
Illinois HB 2489 removes the 5-hour daily cap for HCBS community day services, enabling more daily hours for adults with developmental disabilities while monthly/yearly caps stay.
Note: The provided materials include two different bills numbered HB 2489—one from Arizona (public health emergency buffer stock) and one from Illinois (community day services billing). They are separate measures in different states. The procedural history, sponsors, and related-bill information supplied below correspond mainly to the Illinois measure; the Arizona text is included in full as a separate enactment.
Status & timeline
- Introduced: February 4–5, 2025. First reading Feb 4; multiple committee referrals and sponsor additions through April 2025. Current status: Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee. Effective date if enacted: January 1, 2026.
- Sponsors: Rep. Gregg Johnson (primary), Rep. Alma Hernandez (primary in a different packet), co-sponsors include Harry Benton (chief co-sponsor), Michelle Mussman, Camille Y. Lilly, Laura Faver Dias, and others.
- Related companion bills: SB 661 and SB 698.
Purpose and intent
- To adjust Medicaid/Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver rules for adults with developmental/intellectual disabilities by removing a per‑day billing cap that limits reimbursement to 5 hours per day for community day services providers.
Key provisions
- Requires the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to file an amendment to the 1915(c) Home and Community‑Based Services Waiver for Adults with Developmental Disabilities that:
- Removes the existing 5‑hour‑per‑day billing maximum for community day services providers.
- Does not change existing monthly and yearly billing maximums for those providers (monthly/yearly caps remain in place).
- The bill takes effect January 1, 2026; implementation depends on HFS filing the waiver amendment and receiving any necessary federal approval from CMS.
Who would be affected
- Primary: Providers of community day services who bill Medicaid under the HCBS waiver for adults with developmental/intellectual disabilities — they could bill for more than five billable hours per day, subject to unchanged monthly/yearly caps.
- Secondary: Adults with developmental/intellectual disabilities who receive day services, Medicaid program administrators (HFS), and state/federal Medicaid budgets.
- Federal implication: The waiver amendment must be approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for changes to take effect for Medicaid-funded services.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Operational: Providers could alter service schedules or consolidate/extend service days without violating a daily cap.
- Financial: Because monthly and annual limits remain unchanged, the net Medicaid exposure may be limited, but shifting hours could affect provider billing patterns and cash flow. Any change in aggregate utilization could affect state Medicaid spending; however, the bill itself preserves monthly/yearly caps to constrain total reimbursement.
- Administrative: HFS must prepare and file the waiver amendment and coordinate federal approval; transition planning for providers and beneficiaries may be needed.
Status & timeline
- Introduced in Arizona House (Fifty-seventh Legislature, 1st Regular Session, 2025). Date shown: February 5, 2025 (text accompanies the packet but separate from Illinois actions).
Purpose and intent
- To create a statewide strategic essential buffer stock of medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies for use during public health emergencies, natural disasters, man-made disasters, and mass casualty events.
Key provisions (selected)
- Directs the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), working with the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA), Department of Education, regional disaster medical coordinators and other agencies, to establish and manage an essential buffer stock (including a “virtually sequestered buffer stock” managed by third‑party vendors).
- ADHS must develop procurement, management, distribution, demand‑planning, and modeling guidelines that:
- Recommend item types and quantities (with attention to rural and medically underserved areas).
- Establish surge capacity policies, prioritization criteria (e.g., rural/underserved areas, high infection/hospitalization counties).
- Allow contracting with private vendors for reservation, storage, and distribution to prevent expiration and ensure availability during emergencies.
- Definitions and required planning elements are included (e.g., “virtually sequestered buffer stock,” “designated recipients,” “essential buffer stock”).
Who would be affected
- State agencies (ADHS, DEMA, Department of Education), healthcare providers and facilities, emergency responders, vendor/distribution partners, and populations in rural/medically underserved areas.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Aims to strengthen state readiness for shortages and disaster response; implementation may require appropriation and leveraging federal funding.
- Use of vendor‑managed “virtually sequestered” inventories is intended to reduce expiration losses and costs but will require contracting, oversight, and logistics planning.
- Prioritization criteria focus on equity (rural/underserved populations) and epidemiological need during declared emergencies.
If you want, I can:
- Produce a one‑page fact sheet focused only on the Illinois measure (implementation steps and likely fiscal impacts).
- Draft suggested questions for lawmakers or agency staff about CMS approval timing, fiscal effects, and operational guidance for providers.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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