A House committee signed off Tuesday afternoon on a plan to require a physician who diagnoses autism in a child to provide information to the family about nearby services. [Health News Illinois] 

The bill from Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, requires the information on autism-specific support services in the area to be provided in either a pamphlet or digital form.

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The proposal does not specify what specific information needs to be included, but Scherer told the House’s Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee that she has had conversations with the Springfield-based The Autism Clinic at HOPE about putting together the necessary information for clinicians.

Additionally, Scherer said she has spoken with the Illinois State Medical Society about including the information in a newsletter they provide to members.

“There's so much that can be done, and to just turn (families) away empty-handed to me is just heartbreaking,” she said.

While the amended plan was intended to remove some opposition, several Republicans said they were concerned about the lack of regulation regarding what information is provided.

Rep. Jackie Haas, R-Kankakee, said she worried that parents may be given out-of-date information that is unhelpful.

“If we're going to mandate that physicians provide information to families and caregivers, we need to have some assurance that that information is current and accurate, so families who are already spinning their wheels trying to find services are hitting that brick wall again,” she said.

Haas suggested the plan be amended so that a state agency, like the Department of Public Health, has some oversight over what information is provided.

Scherer said she could be open to the change, but said she wanted to give physicians more flexibility.

“I just feel like that's more oversight on the doctors, which they already don't want,” she said.

The amended plan heads to the full House for further action.

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Call for Speakers

Abstracts Due by May 2, 2026.

Download the fillable form, complete it, and submit by May 2, 2026. 

The Maternal & Child Health Workgroup is pleased to announce its 2nd Maternal & Child Health Symposium, will be held on Monday, September 28, 2026, at Malcolm X College. This half-day event is open to everyone and will feature multiple speakers, an interactive panel, exhibitors, and opportunities for networking. Don't miss this annual event!

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A Call for Speakers is currently open.

Abstracts are due by May 2, 2026.

Download the fillable form, complete it,  and return it by the deadline. 

Maternal health remains one of the most pressing challenges in healthcare and public health. The Institute is deeply committed to this area and collaborates closely with community partners to make a meaningful difference.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Maternal & Child Health Workgroup is to identify and address key healthcare disparities affecting maternal and child health, mortality, and morbidity. The group also aims to define specific actions and timelines to promote maternal justice through thoughtful clinical practices.

Visit the Maternal & Child Health Workgroup webpage for more information>

We warmly invite you to consider joining our workgroup if you are passionate about maternal and child health, have expertise in this area, or are interested in making a meaningful impact.

Contact the Institute for more information by sending an email to info@iomc.org or call the office at 312.709.2685. 

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What's your biological age? Experts explain the benefits and risks of at-home tests | It’s important to understand what over-the-counter biological age test kits can — and can’t — do before buying them. [NBC News]

You may think you know how old you are, but your body doesn’t follow a calendar.

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That is, your chronological age, which measures how many years have passed since you were born, may not match your biological age, which reflects wear and tear on your body at a cellular level.

Based on factors including genetics, lifestyle habits and medical history, you may be biologically older or younger than your chronological age. That’s because these two measures don’t always progress at the same pace, according to Dr. Douglas Vaughan, director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Every time you have a birthday, you add another year to your life,” Vaughan said. “We all experience that at the same rate, and it’s relentless, it’s unforgiving, it’s cosmically indifferent.”

On the other hand, biological age, also called epigenetic age, “reflects more of the changes inside you that occur over time,” he said.

More>

Don't delay- Nominations open - 2026 Leadership Awards - Deadline April 23, 2026 

More details here> 

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The leader of public health initiatives at Chicago’s Puerto Rican Cultural Center is desperately trying to find a way to keep his HIV prevention programs afloat. But amid funding cuts and a backlash against diversity and equity efforts, he worries his Humboldt Park-based health programs could be wiped out by this summer unless new funding is secured. [Chicago Sun-Times] 

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“People will lose their jobs and that probably will include me, too,” he said.

It couldn’t come at a more challenging time.

HIV infections are on the rise in Chicago after about two decades of decline, growing 29% between 2022 and 2024. AIDS cases are also up slightly. In 2024, there were 818 new HIV cases — and nearly half were among Latinos, the population Jiménez focuses on. That increase is particularly significant, marking the first time the racial and ethnic group accounted for most of the new diagnoses, said John Peller, CEO of the AIDS Foundation Chicago.

Chicago health officials say some early clues behind the increase among Latinos include a change in migration patterns which possibly included people who hadn’t been tested or maintained care, along with ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that could have interrupted HIV care.

The change comes amid two contradictory trends: Testing and treatment for HIV has advanced so much that it allows people with the virus who are treated to live relatively normal lives and, critically, not transmit the virus to anyone else. But those advancements are at risk as funding for treatment and prevention for communities most at risk are under attack.

Full article>

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first chief homelessness officer appears to be his last, with his inaugural appointee departing the position that the mayor’s team said was always meant to be a temporary one. [Chicago Tribune]

Sendy Soto will be exiting the administration after two years in the role, with no replacement planned because the position was funded via a philanthropic grant, Johnson’s spokesperson Griffin Krueger said in a Monday statement.

The city’s five-year blueprint on addressing homelessness, which Krueger said was the main priority of Soto’s job, will be publicly released on Tuesday.

“It was always the intention for this to be a temporary position,” Krueger wrote, adding that Soto did not resign. “Her position as Chief Homelessness Officer was philanthropically funded and has now come to an end.” 

Johnson unveiled Soto’s position in April 2024 after signing an executive order the previous year establishing the first-of-its-kind position to be “responsible for addressing the complexities of homelessness and housing insecurity in Chicago,” including coordinating across city departments. A news release stated that her salary came from a multiyear grant by the Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness coalition, which includes the Michael Reese Health Trust and other local charities.

However, a previous LinkedIn post from the group says the grant was meant to last three years, not two.

“We are making history in Chicago!” the coalition posted a year ago. “CFTEH is honored to be funding this position for three years, empowering Sendy and our community and government partners to create a citywide plan to prevent and end homelessness.”

Asked why the job apparently sunsetted a year early, Krueger reiterated that Soto’s “work has now concluded,” with the five-year plan on homelessness set to debut. Her last day will be Thursday.

More>

See additional news>

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Deadline: April 23, 2026

The Institute of Medicine of Chicago Awards recognize the achievements of leaders in healthcare, public health and population health at its  Leadership Awards & Annual Meeting held in June each each year. The awards will be presented on  June 25, 2026. 

Excellence in Healthcare, Public Health and Population Health 

The 2026 LEADERSHIP AWARDS  

Check out the 2025 Leadership Awards Winners and previous award recipients here>. 

Nominations deadline is April 23, 2026.

Nominate an outstanding individual or organization and recognize their achievements in IOMC's top award program. Select from the categories that recognize an individual or an organization in performance and achievements. The awards are open to all, and it is not required to be a Fellow or Billings Society Fellow of IOMC.

Download 2026 Leadership Awards - General Description  of all awards here>

The 2026 Leadership Awards will be presented at the 2026 Leadership Awards & Annual Meeting on June 25, 2026. 

More details and to register>

Contact us for more details at sponsorship@iomc.org. 

More details here> 

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Prior authorization requirements cost the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $35 billion each year, and their overuse has triggered a backlash, stirring some policymakers into action. [MEDPAGE TODAY]

Whether these changes actually fix prior authorization for patients and clinicians is an open question. Meanwhile, stakeholders are weighing the risks versus benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline processes, according to a recent Health Affairs Insider report.

Prior authorization is a form of utilization management designed to gauge the appropriateness of certain medical and pharmacy services -- think elective surgeries, imaging tests, brand-name drugs, and biologics. However, the time and expense for physicians chasing approvals and the potential harm to patients leave many wondering whether these policies serve their intended purpose.

On the clinician side, practices complete about 39 prior authorization requests per physician per week, according to a 2024 American Medical Association survey. Ninety-three percent of physicians experienced delays in care while waiting for prior authorization approvals, 82% said prior authorization has sometimes led patients to abandon treatment, and 29% blamed prior authorization for delays that led to serious adverse events including hospitalizations and deaths.

Moreover, a 2023 KFF survey showed that about 16% of U.S. adults reported problems with prior authorization in the prior year.

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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and a bipartisan coalition of senators have introduced a plan to increase the number of healthcare workers in rural areas. [Health News Illinois] 

The legislation, introduced last week, creates a new program under the Health Resources and Services Administration’s National Health Service Corps to test whether an increased loan repayment amount and longer service commitment would better enhance recruitment and retention of doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers in rural areas.

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Compared to the national average of 39 percent, only 26 percent of NHSC clinicians in Illinois serve in rural areas. More than 835 clinicians with the NHSC serve in Illinois’ community health centers and hospitals.  

“Patients in rural Illinois deserve to have access to quality healthcare, but serious workforce shortages force patients to wait months or travel long distances to see a medical provider,” Durbin said in a statement.

Others backers of the proposal include Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.;, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; and Shelley Moore Capito, W. Va.

U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, has introduced companion legislation in the House.

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Dive Brief: About one-third of adults across the country have used artificial intelligence to find health information, as AI firms increasingly tout tools geared towards health queries, according to a poll published Wednesday by health policy researcher KFF.  [Healthcare Dive]

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• Respondents said their top reasons for using AI include the desire for quick health advice and researching information before seeing a provider, according to the survey. But about 1 in 5 said not having a provider or not being able to get an appointment were major drivers of their AI use. 

More than 40% of users report uploading personal health information like test results or doctor’s notes into an AI tool, even as many adults are worried about data privacy, according to KFF.

• More than 40% of health AI users say they’ve uploaded personal medical information like test results or doctor’s notes into an AI tool, even though many express concerns about the privacy of their health data. 

Dive Insight: 

The poll comes as a number of technology firms have rolled out AI chatbots dedicated to health questions, including OpenAI, Microsoft and Amazon. 

The health-specific tools, which typically allow users to connect their medical records for personalized information, can help users manage their care and navigate the complex U.S. healthcare system, the companies say.

Plus, the tech firms argue many people are already turning to AI for health questions — a claim backed up by KFF’s latest poll of more than 1,300 U.S. adults. 

Nearly 30% of respondents said they’ve used AI for information and advice on their physical health in the past year, while 1 in 6 said they’ve accessed the tools for mental health information. 

Adults are about as likely to use AI for health questions as they are to turn to social media: 29% said they’d used social media for information on physical or mental health in the past year. 

More> 

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Canva Some physicians are increasingly worried that Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a potentially disabling and sometimes lethal bacterial infection in children, is making a comeback as vaccine hesitancy rises. [MEDPAGE TODAY]
Serious cases are being reported in California, New York, Florida, and many other states, MedPage Today has learned. 

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The fact that there were two severe cases in Panama City, Florida, alone in the past 6 months is "frightening, because that's what you would expect across the entire country in a year," Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told MedPage Today.

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