Stava-backed Healthcare Workforce Bill Becomes Law

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Illinois will stand up a task force to address persistent workforce shortages in critical healthcare specialties under a bill sponsored by state Rep. Anne Stava, D-Downers Grove, which was signed into law on August 15 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Various factors, from the pandemic to geographic and economic factors, accelerated an already worsening problem—the shortage of many kinds of healthcare specialist providers in many parts of our state,” Stava said. “If we’re going to correct this stubborn problem, we need to ensure we’re leveraging all the expertise available to us and leaving no stone unturned.”

The Stava-sponsored Senate Bill 593 creates a task force comprised of legislators, government officials, and professionals from the healthcare industry and statewide health- oriented organizations to review statutes, data, capabilities, and current obstacles and then provide recommendations in a report to the General Assembly and the Governor.

The task force would have one year to prepare this report. The task force will dissolve and the law repeals itself on December 31, 2027.

“Illinois families across our state need reliable access to specialist healthcare and the pandemic and other difficulties over the last decade plus have put that in doubt in many places,” Stava said. “The recommendations of this task force will be invaluable in crafting policies to ensure that every Illinois family and community has access to needed healthcare.”