HB0123 EngrossedLRB101 02887 RJF 47895 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act is
5amended by changing Sections 6 and 8.5 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 3960/6)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1156)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2029)
8    Sec. 6. Application for permit or exemption; exemption
9regulations.
10    (a) An application for a permit or exemption shall be made
11to the State Board upon forms provided by the State Board. This
12application shall contain such information as the State Board
13deems necessary. The State Board shall not require an applicant
14to file a Letter of Intent before an application is filed. Such
15application shall include affirmative evidence on which the
16State Board or Chairman may make its decision on the approval
17or denial of the permit or exemption.
18    (b) The State Board shall establish by regulation the
19procedures and requirements regarding issuance of exemptions.
20An exemption shall be approved when information required by the
21Board by rule is submitted. Projects eligible for an exemption,
22rather than a permit, include, but are not limited to, change
23of ownership of a health care facility, discontinuation of a

 

 

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1category of service, and discontinuation of a health care
2facility, other than a health care facility maintained by the
3State or any agency or department thereof or a nursing home
4maintained by a county. For a change of ownership of a health
5care facility between related persons, the State Board shall
6provide by rule for an expedited process for obtaining an
7exemption in accordance with Section 8.5 of this Act.
8    (c) All applications shall be signed by the applicant and
9shall be verified by any 2 officers thereof.
10    (c-5) Any written review or findings of the Board staff
11concerning an application for a permit must be made available
12to the public at least 14 calendar days before the meeting of
13the State Board at which the review or findings are considered.
14The applicant and members of the public may submit, to the
15State Board, written responses regarding the facts set forth in
16the review or findings of the Board staff. Members of the
17public shall have until 10 days before the meeting of the State
18Board to submit any written response concerning the Board
19staff's written review or findings. The Board staff may revise
20any findings to address corrections of factual errors cited in
21the public response. At the meeting, the State Board may, in
22its discretion, permit the submission of other additional
23written materials.
24    (d) Upon receipt of an application for a permit, the State
25Board shall approve and authorize the issuance of a permit if
26it finds (1) that the applicant is fit, willing, and able to

 

 

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1provide a proper standard of health care service for the
2community with particular regard to the qualification,
3background and character of the applicant, (2) that economic
4feasibility is demonstrated in terms of effect on the existing
5and projected operating budget of the applicant and of the
6health care facility; in terms of the applicant's ability to
7establish and operate such facility in accordance with
8licensure regulations promulgated under pertinent state laws;
9and in terms of the projected impact on the total health care
10expenditures in the facility and community, (3) that safeguards
11are provided that assure that the establishment, construction
12or modification of the health care facility or acquisition of
13major medical equipment is consistent with the public interest,
14and (4) that the proposed project is consistent with the
15orderly and economic development of such facilities and
16equipment and is in accord with standards, criteria, or plans
17of need adopted and approved pursuant to the provisions of
18Section 12 of this Act.
19(Source: P.A. 99-154, eff. 7-28-15; 100-518, eff. 6-1-18;
20100-681, eff. 8-3-18.)
 
21    (20 ILCS 3960/8.5)
22    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2029)
23    Sec. 8.5. Certificate of exemption for change of ownership
24of a health care facility; discontinuation of a health care
25facility or category of service; public notice and public

 

 

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1hearing.
2    (a) Upon a finding that an application for a change of
3ownership is complete, the State Board shall publish a legal
4notice on 3 consecutive days one day in a newspaper of general
5circulation in the area or community to be affected and afford
6the public an opportunity to request a hearing. If the
7application is for a facility located in a Metropolitan
8Statistical Area, an additional legal notice shall be published
9in a newspaper of limited circulation, if one exists, in the
10area in which the facility is located. If the newspaper of
11limited circulation is published on a daily basis, the
12additional legal notice shall be published on 3 consecutive
13days one day. The applicant shall pay the cost incurred by the
14Board in publishing the change of ownership notice in
15newspapers as required under this subsection. The legal notice
16shall also be posted on the Health Facilities and Services
17Review Board's web site and sent to the State Representative
18and State Senator of the district in which the health care
19facility is located. An application for change of ownership of
20a hospital shall not be deemed complete without a signed
21certification that for a period of 2 years after the change of
22ownership transaction is effective, the hospital will not adopt
23a charity care policy that is more restrictive than the policy
24in effect during the year prior to the transaction. An
25application for a change of ownership need not contain signed
26transaction documents so long as it includes the following key

 

 

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1terms of the transaction: names and background of the parties;
2structure of the transaction; the person who will be the
3licensed or certified entity after the transaction; the
4ownership or membership interests in such licensed or certified
5entity both prior to and after the transaction; fair market
6value of assets to be transferred; and the purchase price or
7other form of consideration to be provided for those assets.
8The issuance of the certificate of exemption shall be
9contingent upon the applicant submitting a statement to the
10Board within 90 days after the closing date of the transaction,
11or such longer period as provided by the Board, certifying that
12the change of ownership has been completed in accordance with
13the key terms contained in the application. If such key terms
14of the transaction change, a new application shall be required.
15    Where a change of ownership is among related persons, and
16there are no other changes being proposed at the health care
17facility that would otherwise require a permit or exemption
18under this Act, the applicant shall submit an application
19consisting of a standard notice in a form set forth by the
20Board briefly explaining the reasons for the proposed change of
21ownership. Once such an application is submitted to the Board
22and reviewed by the Board staff, the Board Chair shall take
23action on an application for an exemption for a change of
24ownership among related persons within 45 days after the
25application has been deemed complete, provided the application
26meets the applicable standards under this Section. If the Board

 

 

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1Chair has a conflict of interest or for other good cause, the
2Chair may request review by the Board. Notwithstanding any
3other provision of this Act, for purposes of this Section, a
4change of ownership among related persons means a transaction
5where the parties to the transaction are under common control
6or ownership before and after the transaction is completed.
7    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the
8Board to impose any conditions, obligations, or limitations,
9other than those required by this Section, with respect to the
10issuance of an exemption for a change of ownership, including,
11but not limited to, the time period before which a subsequent
12change of ownership of the health care facility could be
13sought, or the commitment to continue to offer for a specified
14time period any services currently offered by the health care
15facility.
16    (a-3) (Blank). Upon a finding that an application to close
17a health care facility is complete, the State Board shall
18publish a legal notice on 3 consecutive days in a newspaper of
19general circulation in the area or community to be affected and
20afford the public an opportunity to request a hearing. If the
21application is for a facility located in a Metropolitan
22Statistical Area, an additional legal notice shall be published
23in a newspaper of limited circulation, if one exists, in the
24area in which the facility is located. If the newspaper of
25limited circulation is published on a daily basis, the
26additional legal notice shall be published on 3 consecutive

 

 

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1days. The legal notice shall also be posted on the Health
2Facilities and Services Review Board's web site and sent to the
3State Representative and State Senator of the district in which
4the health care facility is located. In addition, the health
5care facility shall provide notice of closure to the local
6media that the health care facility would routinely notify
7about facility events. No later than 90 days after a
8discontinuation of a health facility, the applicant must submit
9a statement to the State Board certifying that the
10discontinuation is complete.
11    (a-5) (Blank). Upon a finding that an application to
12discontinue a category of service is complete and provides the
13requested information, as specified by the State Board, an
14exemption shall be issued. No later than 30 days after the
15issuance of the exemption, the health care facility must give
16written notice of the discontinuation of the category of
17service to the State Senator and State Representative serving
18the legislative district in which the health care facility is
19located. No later than 90 days after a discontinuation of a
20category of service, the applicant must submit a statement to
21the State Board certifying that the discontinuation is
22complete.
23    (a-6) Notwithstanding any decision of the Board or
24provision to the contrary, the Governor is authorized to
25reverse a decision of the Board regarding an application for an
26exemption submitted under this Act. If there is a pending

 

 

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1lawsuit on the closure of a health care facility for which an
2application for an exemption is under review, the Board shall
3suspend any pending action involving that application until the
4resolution of the lawsuit. The changes made by this amendatory
5Act of the 101st General Assembly shall apply to all
6applications pending before the Board on and after the
7effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General
8Assembly in which no final action has been taken by the Board.
9    (b) If a public hearing is requested, it shall be held at
10least 15 days but no more than 30 days after the date of
11publication of the legal notice in the community in which the
12facility is located. The hearing shall be held in the affected
13area or community in a place of reasonable size and
14accessibility and a full and complete written transcript of the
15proceedings shall be made. All interested persons attending the
16hearing shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present
17their positions in writing or orally. The applicant shall
18provide a summary of the proposed change of ownership proposal
19for distribution at the public hearing.
20    (c) For the purposes of this Section "newspaper of limited
21circulation" means a newspaper intended to serve a particular
22or defined population of a specific geographic area within a
23Metropolitan Statistical Area such as a municipality, town,
24village, township, or community area, but does not include
25publications of professional and trade associations.
26(Source: P.A. 99-154, eff. 7-28-15; 99-527, eff. 1-1-17;

 

 

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199-551, eff. 7-15-16; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.