(a) The Governor shall appoint, and the Senate shall confirm, an Inspector General who shall function within the Illinois Department of Public Aid (now Healthcare and Family Services) and report to the Governor. The term of the Inspector General shall expire on the third Monday of January, 1997 and every 4 years thereafter.

(b) In order to prevent, detect, and eliminate fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, and misconduct, the Inspector General shall oversee the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' and the Department on Aging's integrity functions, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Investigation of misconduct by employees, vendors, contractors and medical providers, except for allegations of violations of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act which shall be referred to the Office of the Governor's Executive Inspector General for investigation.

(2) Prepayment and post-payment audits of medical providers related to ensuring that appropriate payments are made for services rendered and to the prevention and recovery of overpayments.

(3) Monitoring of quality assurance programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Community Care Program administered by the Department on Aging.

(4) Quality control measurements of the programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Community Care Program administered by the Department on Aging.

(5) Investigations of fraud or intentional program violations committed by clients of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Community Care Program administered by the Department on Aging.

(6) Actions initiated against contractors, vendors, or medical providers for any of the following reasons:

(A) Violations of the medical assistance program and the Community Care Program administered by the Department on Aging.

(B) Sanctions against providers brought in conjunction with the Department of Public Health or the Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities).

(C) Recoveries of assessments against hospitals and long-term care facilities.

(D) Sanctions mandated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services against medical providers.

(E) Violations of contracts related to any programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Community Care Program administered by the Department on Aging.

(7) Representation of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services at hearings with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in actions taken against professional licenses held by persons who are in violation of orders for child support payments.

(b-5) At the request of the Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary of Early Childhood, the Inspector General shall, in relation to any function performed by the Department of Human Services as successor to the Department of Public Aid, exercise one or more of the powers provided under this Section as if those powers related to the Department of Human Services or the Department of Early Childhood; in such matters, the Inspector General shall report his or her findings to the Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary of Early Childhood, respectively.

(c) Notwithstanding, and in addition to, any other provision of law, the Inspector General shall have access to all information, personnel and facilities of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of Public Aid), their employees, vendors, contractors and medical providers and any federal, State or local governmental agency that are necessary to perform the duties of the Office as directly related to public assistance programs administered by those departments. No medical provider shall be compelled, however, to provide individual medical records of patients who are not clients of the programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. State and local governmental agencies are authorized and directed to provide the requested information, assistance or cooperation. For purposes of enhanced program integrity functions and oversight, and to the extent consistent with applicable information and privacy, security, and disclosure laws, State agencies and departments shall provide the Office of Inspector General access to confidential and other information and data, and the Inspector General is authorized to enter into agreements with appropriate federal agencies and departments to secure similar data. This includes, but is not limited to, information pertaining to: licensure; certification; earnings; immigration status; citizenship; wage reporting; unearned and earned income; pension income; employment; supplemental security income; social security numbers; National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers; the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB); program and agency exclusions; taxpayer identification numbers; tax delinquency; corporate information; and death records. The Inspector General shall enter into agreements with State agencies and departments, and is authorized to enter into agreements with federal agencies and departments, under which such agencies and departments shall share data necessary for medical assistance program integrity functions and oversight. The Inspector General shall enter into agreements with State agencies and departments, and is authorized to enter into agreements with federal agencies and departments, under which such agencies shall share data necessary for recipient and vendor screening, review, and investigation, including but not limited to vendor payment and recipient eligibility verification. The Inspector General shall develop, in cooperation with other State and federal agencies and departments, and in compliance with applicable federal laws and regulations, appropriate and effective methods to share such data. The Inspector General shall enter into agreements with State agencies and departments, and is authorized to enter into agreements with federal agencies and departments, including, but not limited to: the Secretary of State; the Department of Revenue; the Department of Public Health; the Department of Human Services; and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The Inspector General shall have the authority to deny payment, prevent overpayments, and recover overpayments. The Inspector General shall have the authority to deny or suspend payment to, and deny, terminate, or suspend the eligibility of, any vendor who fails to grant the Inspector General timely access to full and complete records, including records of recipients under the medical assistance program for the most recent 6 years, in accordance with Section 140.28 of Title 89 of the Illinois Administrative Code, and other information for the purpose of audits, investigations, or other program integrity functions, after reasonable written request by the Inspector General.

(d) The Inspector General shall serve as the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' primary liaison with law enforcement, investigatory and prosecutorial agencies, including but not limited to the following:

(1) The Department of State Police.

(2) The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal law enforcement agencies.

(3) The various Inspectors General of federal agencies overseeing the programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(4) The various Inspectors General of any other State agencies with responsibilities for portions of programs primarily administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(5) The Offices of the several United States Attorneys in Illinois.

(6) The several State's Attorneys.

(7) The offices of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that administer the Medicare and Medicaid integrity programs. The Inspector General shall meet on a regular basis with these entities to share information regarding possible misconduct by any persons or entities involved with the public aid programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

(e) All investigations conducted by the Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner that ensures the preservation of evidence for use in criminal prosecutions. If the Inspector General determines that a possible criminal act relating to fraud in the provision or administration of the medical assistance program has been committed, the Inspector General shall immediately notify the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. If the Inspector General determines that a possible criminal act has been committed within the jurisdiction of the Office, the Inspector General may request the special expertise of the Department of State Police. The Inspector General may present for prosecution the findings of any criminal investigation to the Office of the Attorney General, the Offices of the several United States Attorneys in Illinois or the several State's Attorneys.

(f) To carry out his or her duties as described in this Section, the Inspector General and his or her designees shall have the power to compel by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, electronic records and papers as directly related to public assistance programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services or the Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of Public Aid). No medical provider shall be compelled, however, to provide individual medical records of patients who are not clients of the Medical Assistance Program.

(g) The Inspector General shall report all convictions, terminations, and suspensions taken against vendors, contractors and medical providers to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services and to any agency responsible for licensing or regulating those persons or entities.

(h) The Inspector General shall make annual reports, findings, and recommendations regarding the Office's investigations into reports of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or misconduct relating to any programs administered by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services or the Department of Human Services (as successor to the Department of Public Aid) to the General Assembly and the Governor. These reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) Aggregate provider billing and payment information, including the number of providers at various Medicaid earning levels.

(2) The number of audits of the medical assistance program and the dollar savings resulting from those audits.

(3) The number of prescriptions rejected annually under the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' Refill Too Soon program and the dollar savings resulting from that program.

(4) Provider sanctions, in the aggregate, including terminations and suspensions.

(5) A detailed summary of the investigations undertaken in the previous fiscal year. These summaries shall comply with all laws and rules regarding maintaining confidentiality in the public aid programs.

(i) Nothing in this Section shall limit investigations by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services or the Department of Human Services that may otherwise be required by law or that may be necessary in their capacity as the central administrative authorities responsible for administration of their agency's programs in this State.

(j) The Inspector General may issue shields or other distinctive identification to his or her employees not exercising the powers of a peace officer if the Inspector General determines that a shield or distinctive identification is needed by an employee to carry out his or her responsibilities.

(Source: P.A. 104-518, eff. 6-26-26.)