Illinois Code § 5

§ 5.

Findings; purpose. (a) The General Assembly finds that: (1) Every Illinois resident deserves access to high quality, affordable health care regardless of his or her race, ethnicity, zip code, gender identification, or sexual orientation. Moreover, Illinois residents deserve support from a strong, diverse health care workforce that reflects, represents, and understands the patients they serve. (2) Establishing and building trusted relationships between patients and health care providers can lead to more compassionate care and improved outcomes. This is particularly important for communities of color and populations that experience systemic racism and other barriers to obtaining equitable high quality care that improves health. (3) A 2004 report from Johns Hopkins University and the Commonwealth Fund focused on the disparities in patient experience brought on by a lack of racial and ethnic diversity among health care providers. From the article: "In what is called 'race-discordant' relationships, patients from ethnic groups frequently are treated by professionals from a different ethnic background. The research reviewed here documents ongoing racial and ethnic disparities in health care and links patient-physician race and ethnic concordance with higher patient satisfaction and better health care processes. Based on this research, the authors issue the following recommendation: ... health policy should be revised to encourage workforce diversity by funding programs that support the recruitment of minority students and medical faculty...". (4) Another 2021 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Institutes of Health analyzed minority representation across 10 different health care provider designations and found significant underrepresentation among Black, Hispanic, and Native American people across all 10 designations. This study makes specific mention of the disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on minority communities and how greater diversity in our health care workforce could lead to increased cultural competence and improved health outcomes. (5) These are just 2 studies among the countless that make clear the importance of diversity in our health care workforce. Illinois is no exception. More must be done to increase the diversity and community representation of our State's health care workforce in order to better meet the needs of underrepresented communities. This Act is intended to support workforce development programs specifically aimed at this mission. (b) The purpose of this Act is to recognize and address the historic and systemic barriers that have prevented proportional representation by race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability status in the health care provider community and address access to care and health disparities by prioritizing scholarship and loan repayment programs to individuals from underrepresented communities pursuing health care careers. These scholarship and loan repayment programs shall encourage health care providers to locate and practice in areas of greatest need, as determined by provider shortage area data or health disparity data, and to support efforts for health care providers to better reflect the communities they serve. (Source: P.A. 102-942, eff. 1-1-23.)