The Older Adult Services Advisory Committee oversees the Older Adult Services Act (P.A. 093-1031), which is legislation that supports older adults who wish to stay in their homes by restructuring the delivery of services to include home-based services as well as institutional care.

The Health Care Council of Illinois (HCCI) serves as the joint legislative, regulatory, communication and political arm of both the Illinois Health Care Association and the Illinois Long-Term Care Council. HCCI actively participates in the development, response and interpretation of both federal and state agency regulations. Its newsroom produces newsletters, magazines, member alerts and other media outreach. It has a Political Action Committee (HCCI-PAC) that orchestrates political contributions and activities. HCCI-PAC’s political plan includes personal visits with legislators, grassroots efforts by members, and fundraising and campaign activity across all four legislative caucuses.

Established in 1979 by Public Act 81-202, the Illinois Department on Aging’s Community Care Program helps senior citizens who might need nursing home care to remain in their own homes by providing in-home and community-based services

The Illinois Council on Aging is a 31-member advisory body that reviews and reports on the department’s distribution of public funds, and evaluates and reports on state programs and services for older citizens. The council’s responsibilities include: reviewing department reports to the governor and the General Assembly; preparing an annual report on all department programs, services and facilities for the governor, the General Assembly and the director; reviewing and addressing the department’s comprehensive state plan; reviewing disbursements of public funds by the department to private agencies; and consulting with the director regarding the operations of the department.

The Senior HelpLine provides information and assistance on programs and services and directs senior citizens and caregivers to local services. Professional staff members assess needs, send materials and provide written referrals for a range of services, including care management, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, legal services, transportation, employment and nutrition services.

The mission of the Illinois Department on Aging is to serve and advocate for older Illinoisans and their caregivers by administering quality and culturally appropriate programs that promote partnerships and encourage independence, dignity and quality of life.

The Illinois Act on Aging (20 ILCS 105/4.04a) mandates that there be an Illinois Long-Term Care Council to ensure that consumers older than 60 residing in licensed long-term care facilities receive high-quality long-term care. The council makes recommendations and advises the Department on Aging and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman on matters pertaining to the quality of life during long-term care.

Founded in 1950, the Illinois Health Care Association (IHCA) is a nonprofit organization composed of more than 375 licensed and certified long-term care facilities and programs throughout the state. IHCA seeks to promote the highest standard of services in facilities and programs for the elderly in Illinois. Its website includes breaking news on Medicare and Medicaid in Illinois, seminars, roundtables and other informational tools.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Make Medicare Work Coalition is a collaborative project between AgeOptions, Health & Disability Advocates, and Progress Center for Independent Living. The coalition reaches hundreds of thousands of Illinois Medicare consumers through its outreach programs and formulates public policy proposals to improve the Medicare program and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D) coverage for seniors and people with disabilities in Illinois. Its website includes a file library, bulletins, e-news, embedded video material, information on outreach and presentations and government links.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office works with advocates, other government agencies, and law enforcement officials to protect the rights and quality of life of seniors in Illinois. The attorney general’s office works with the senior advocacy groups Silver Beat, TRIAD, Senior Healthcare Assistance and B Safe Program.

AgeOptions is a nonprofit organization that serves the older adults of suburban Cook County and their families as an Area Agency on Aging. As part of a nationwide network, it is authorized by the federal Older Americans Act and the Illinois Department on Aging as the Planning and Service Area for the 30 townships surrounding Chicago.

Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS) is a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), a company contracted by the CMS to process Medicare claims. WPS processes Medicare Part A and Part B payments and claims for Jurisdiction 5, which consists of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. WPS also administers Part A and Part B legacy contracts. The Part A legacy contracts are former Mutual of Omaha providers who will eventually transition to Jurisdiction 1 (covered by Palmetto Government Benefit Administrators). They cover Hawaii, Delaware and New York. The Part B legacy contracts cover Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Illinois Foundation for Medical Care is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Illinois. QIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a national program that offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best.

This organization provides news and information about fighting and preventing Medicare fraud.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act.

This organization aims to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, to reduce health care costs and to improve the quality of life of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. They seek to highlight best practices by providers and public employees who are working to end waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare.

The long-term care ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The office resolves complaints and educates seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. The ombudsman also provides information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA).

In addition to serving as the CEO of the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, Henry Taylor serves as chairman of the board for the Illinois Primary Health Care Association. He was previously the chair of the National Association for Community Health Centers Task Force on Primary Care for Public Housing. He received his master’s degree in public administration from Roosevelt University, and he has more than 20 years of health care administration experience.

Dean M. Harrison joined Northwestern Memorial in July 1998 as senior vice president of corporate operations. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the University of Chicago Health System. Harrison serves on the board of directors of the University HealthSystem Consortium and the Illinois Hospital Association. Additionally, he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago and the Business Leadership Group for Workforce Chicago 2.0.

Larry M. Goldberg serves as the president and CEO of Loyola University Health System. Before joining Loyola University Health System in October 2011, Goldberg was CEO of Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. He also served as vice president of hospital operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he directly managed all support, diagnostic, therapeutic and ambulatory care services. He holds a master's degree in health administration from Duke University.

In addition to being CEO of Rush University Medical Center, Larry J. Goodman also serves as president of Rush University and the Rush System for Health. Previously, he was the senior vice president for medical affairs at Rush and the Henry R. Russe Dean of Rush Medical College. His research has focused on infectious diseases, and his work has been published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" and the "Journal of Infectious Diseases." He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School.

This Illinois House of Representatives committee deals with legislative matters that pertain to aging.

This Illinois House of Representatives subcommittee deals with legislative matters that pertain to health benefits and health assistance.

This Illinois Senate committee addresses legislative matters that pertain to health in Illinois.

This Illinois Senate committee addresses legislative matters that pertain to insurance in Illinois.

This Illinois House of Representatives committee deals with equal access to health and healthcare issues.

This Illinois House of Representatives committee deals with legislative matters that pertain to insurance in Illinois.