Moving to Illinois for reproductive health services? You could get paid
Illinois has experienced a spike in out-of-state visitors seeking reproductive health services as neighboring states enact abortion restrictions and outright bans. Now, the state legislature is considering providing tax credits for those that relocate for those services.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed House Bill 5152 which would provide a $500 tax credit for patients, their parents or guardians and health care providers starting this tax year. The same credit would be available for those seeking gender-affirming care and teachers that have moved due to educational content restrictions in their home states.
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The bill is of personal importance to Cassidy, originally from Florida, where her sibling teachers have retired as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has led instruction bans on sexual orientation, gender identity and critical race theory.
"This is very much meant to provide a warm handoff for folks who have made incredibly unwelcome in their homes," she said in an interview Monday.
Currently in the House Rules Committee, proving individuals did in-fact relocate to Illinois for these healthcare services or issues with classroom curriculum would likely be administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Cassidy said the process would be similar to an affidavit, where teachers would have to provide evidence that they moved from a "state that is restricting speech."
Republicans have chastised the legislation, seeing it as a faulty way to address population loss experienced by the state. The U.S. Census Bureau reported Illinois lost nearly 33,000 people between July 2022 and July 2023, but that decrease could be scratched since 46,400 Illinoisans living in group homes were not counted in the 2020 Census.
State Rep. Adam Niemerg, a member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, took issue with the proposal after the General Assembly did not renew the Invest in Kids, a program providing income tax credits to those supporting private K-12 school scholarships, before it sunset at the end of last year.
“The message from the far-left is you can’t have a tax credit to help low-income families, but if it's related to abortion or woke teaching policies it's ok,” Niemerg, R-Dietrich, said in a statement. He is running as a write-in candidate this year after the Illinois State Board of Elections removed him from the ballot.
The credit is one of several lawmakers are pushing early in the spring session, including a $300 child tax credit and $5,250 tax credits available to employers who help their workers pay off student loan debt.
How much Cassidy's proposal would cost the state is unknown, she said, the affected population an "uncountable diaspora." Still, she contends the individuals moving and starting a new life in the state would offset any expenditure.
"From a pure fiscal perspective honestly, by the time you furnish an apartment, we've more than made up whatever tax credit is given," she said. "These folks are setting up their lives here, they are becoming permanent residents in the state of Illinois."
Cassidy also leads the House Reproductive Health and the Dobbs Decision Working Group, where conversations are ongoing to determine if abortion should be put on the ballot — codifying it into the state constitution.
At this point, Cassidy said it is appearing less likely the ballot question will come before voters this year. A petition must receive at least 328,371 signatures and filed with the Illinois Secretary of State's office by May 6 for it to make it to the November ballot.
Gov. JB Pritzker, a self-avowed defender of reproductive rights, has taken the cause nationwide and launched Think Big America to assist states like Missouri that are trying to restore abortion rights. Given Democrats' control in Springfield, holding super-majorities in both chambers along with every statewide office, Cassidy also feels the focus should be on assisting other states.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Illinois has become a beacon for those seeking reproductive health services and has opened clinics in towns like Carbondale and Rockford to serve those from states like Tennessee, Arkansas and Wisconsin. Pritzker also signed legislation last year granting legal protection to providers and out-of-state patients seeking abortions or gender-affirming care.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, nearly 17,000 out-of-state patients came to Illinois to terminate their pregnancies in 2022 when Roe was overturned. It was almost a 50% increase from the prior year.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Abortion, health care services tax credit bill introduced in Illinois
