IL HB4923

Establishes a Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in collaboration with the Department of Human Services and Department of Public Health to award annual grants to medical-legal partnerships providing free legal services to low-income individuals and families.

Grant recipients must demonstrate ability to provide high-quality, patient-centered legal services addressing health-harming social and legal needs and must comply with departmental standards and guidelines developed with input from legal services organizations, health advocacy groups, hospitals, and healthcare providers.

Grant funds may be used to expand capacity of existing partnerships through hiring interdisciplinary teams, increasing patient access to case management services, and purchasing technology for remote and in-person legal consultations, as well as establishing new partnerships in underserved communities.

Eligible applicants include community health centers, hospitals, nonprofit legal aid organizations, public health clinics, federally qualified health centers, behavioral health facilities, and law schools.

Creates the Medical-Legal Partnership Grant Program Fund in the state treasury and requires the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to adopt rules for application requirements, certification, and reporting to track grant utilization.