97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3166

 

Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. Michael G. Connelly

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Health Courts Act. Establishes the Illinois Health Courts Commission with 10 members appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, of which: 3 are representatives of hospitals; 3 are representatives of physicians; and 4 are citizen representatives, with one designated as chairman by the Governor. Provides for the staffing and the operation of the Commission. Establishes arbitrator qualifications, appointments and training procedures. Provides that arbitrators are subject to the Personnel Code. Provides that the Commission shall adopt rules to create an alternative dispute resolution method that provides: after the occurrence of an adverse health care event, the health care professional or health care provider involved must notify the patient or the patient's family, within 30 days after the discovery of the adverse event, that the patient has a right to seek compensation; following this, the patient may submit a claim; the health care professional or provider must notify the health court commission of the claim and provide a compensability determination to the patient within 60 days; if the event is compensable, the health care professional or provider must make an offer based upon a schedule of damages created by the Commission by rule; a patient may appeal that compensation decision to the Commission; the patient may appeal a decision to not compensate the patient for the claim, which is reviewed by an arbitrator, de novo, at a hearing at which the health care professional or provider and the patient may present evidence, including expert testimony; and the arbitrator's decision may be appealed to the appellate court. Provides that the Commission shall issue an annual report. Includes other provisions.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning health courts.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Health
5Courts Act.
 
6    Section 5. Illinois Health Courts Commission. There is
7created the Illinois Health Courts Commission consisting of 10
8members to be appointed by the Governor, by and with the
9consent of the Senate, 3 of whom shall be representatives of
10hospitals, 3 of whom shall be representatives of physicians,
11and 4 of whom shall be representative citizens not identified
12with either hospitals or physicians.
13    One of the representative citizen members shall be
14designated by the Governor as chairman. The chairman shall be
15the chief administrative and executive officer of the
16Commission; he or she shall have general supervisory authority
17over all personnel of the Commission, including arbitrators and
18commissioners, and the final authority in all administrative
19matters relating to the commissioners, including but not
20limited to the assignment and distribution of cases and the
21assignment of commissioners to the panels, except in the
22promulgation of procedural rules and orders and in the
23determination of cases under the Act.

 

 

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1    Notwithstanding the general supervisory authority of the
2chairman, each commissioner, except those assigned to the
3temporary panel, shall have the authority to hire and supervise
42 staff attorneys. The staff attorneys shall report directly to
5the individual commissioner.
6    A formal training program for newly-appointed
7commissioners shall be implemented. The training program shall
8include the following:
9        (1) substantive and procedural aspects of the office of
10    commissioner;
11        (2) current issues in professional liability law and
12    practice;
13        (3) medical lectures by specialists in areas including
14    but not limited to orthopedics, ophthalmology, psychiatry,
15    and rehabilitation counseling;
16        (4) orientation to each operational unit of the
17    Illinois Health Courts Commission;
18        (5) observation of experienced arbitrators and
19    commissioners conducting hearings, combined with the
20    opportunity to discuss evidence presented and rulings
21    made;
22        (6) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the
23    newly-appointed commissioner to issue judgments as a means
24    to evaluate knowledge and writing ability; and
25        (7) a writing skills course.
26    A formal and ongoing professional development program

 

 

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1including, but not limited to, the training program areas
2described in items (1) through (7) in this Section shall be
3implemented to keep the commissioners informed of recent
4developments and issues and to assist them in maintaining and
5enhancing their professional competence.
6    In case of a vacancy in the office of a commissioner during
7a recess of the Senate, the Governor shall make a temporary
8appointment until the next meeting of the Senate, when he or
9she shall nominate some person to fill the office. Any person
10so nominated who is confirmed by the Senate shall hold office
11during the remainder of the term and until his or her successor
12is appointed and qualified.
13    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the
14event that the chairman makes a finding that a member is or
15will be unable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her
16office, the chairman shall advise the Governor and the member
17in writing and shall designate a certified arbitrator to serve
18as acting commissioner. The certified arbitrator shall act as a
19commissioner until the member resumes the duties of his or her
20office or, if a vacancy occurs in the office of the
21commissioner, until a new member is appointed by the Governor,
22by and with the consent of the Senate; but in no event shall a
23certified arbitrator serve in the capacity of commissioner for
24more than 6 months from the date of appointment by the
25chairman. A finding by the chairman that a member is or will be
26unable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her office

 

 

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1shall be based upon notice to the chairman by a member that he
2or she will be unable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or
3her office or facts and circumstances made known to the
4chairman which lead the chairman to reasonably find that a
5member is unable to fulfill the responsibilities of his or her
6office. A certified arbitrator designated to act as a
7commissioner shall be considered a representative of citizens.
8A certified arbitrator who serves as an acting commissioner
9shall have all the rights and powers of a commissioner,
10including salary.
11    The Commission may have an executive director; if so, the
12executive director shall be appointed by the Governor with the
13advice and consent of the Senate. The duties of the executive
14director include but are not limited to the general
15administration of the Commission. The salary of the executive
16director shall be fixed by the Commission.
 
17    Section 10. Commission employees. The Commission shall
18appoint a secretary, an assistant secretary, and arbitrators
19and shall employ such assistants and clerical help as may be
20necessary.
21    The arbitrator candidates must meet one of the following
22qualifications: (1) licensed to practice law in the State of
23Illinois; (2) served as an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers'
24Compensation Commission for at least 3 years; or (3) has at
25least 4 years of professional labor relations experience.

 

 

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1    Each arbitrator appointed shall be required to demonstrate
2in writing his or her knowledge of and expertise in the law and
3judicial processes relevant to this Act.
4    A formal training program for newly-hired arbitrators
5shall be implemented. The training program shall include the
6following:
7        (1) substantive and procedural aspects of the
8    arbitrator position;
9        (2) current issues in professional liability law and
10    practice;
11        (3) medical lectures by specialists in areas such as
12    orthopedics, ophthalmology, psychiatry, and rehabilitation
13    counseling;
14        (4) orientation to each operational unit of the
15    Illinois Health Courts Commission;
16        (5) observation of experienced arbitrators conducting
17    hearings of cases, combined with the opportunity to discuss
18    evidence presented and rulings made;
19        (6) the use of hypothetical cases requiring the trainee
20    to issue judgments as a means to evaluating knowledge and
21    writing ability; and
22        (7) a writing skills course.
23    A formal and ongoing professional development program
24including, but not limited to, the program areas described in
25items (1) through (7) in this Section shall be implemented to
26keep arbitrators informed of recent developments and issues and

 

 

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1to assist them in maintaining and enhancing their professional
2competence.
3    Each arbitrator appointed after the effective date of this
4Act shall be appointed for a term of 6 years. Each arbitrator
5shall be appointed for a subsequent term unless the chairman
6makes a recommendation to the Commission, no later than 60 days
7prior to the expiration of the term, not to reappoint the
8arbitrator. Notice of the recommendation shall also be given to
9the arbitrator no later than 60 days prior to the expiration of
10the term. Upon the recommendation by the chairman, the
11arbitrator shall be appointed for a subsequent term unless 8 of
1210 members of the Commission, including the chairman, vote not
13to reappoint the arbitrator.
14    All arbitrators shall be subject to the provisions of the
15Personnel Code, and the performance of all arbitrators shall be
16reviewed by the chairman on an annual basis. The chairman shall
17allow input from the commissioners in all such reviews.
18    The Commission shall provide itself with a seal for the
19authentication of its orders, awards and proceedings upon which
20shall be inscribed the name of the Commission and the words
21"Illinois-Seal".
22    The secretary or assistant secretary, under the direction
23of the Commission, shall have charge and custody of the seal of
24the Commission and also have charge and custody of all records,
25files, orders, proceedings, decisions, awards, and other
26documents on file with the Commission. The secretary or

 

 

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1assistant secretary shall furnish certified copies, under the
2seal of the Commission, of any such records, files, orders,
3proceedings, decisions, awards, or other documents on file with
4the commission as may be required. Certified copies so
5furnished by the secretary or assistant secretary shall be
6received in evidence before the commission or any arbitrator
7thereof, and in all courts, provided that the original of such
8certified copy is otherwise competent and admissible in
9evidence. The secretary or assistant secretary shall perform
10such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by the
11Commission.
 
12    Section 15. Health court dispute resolution. The Health
13Courts Commission shall adopt rules to create an alternative
14dispute resolution method that does the following:
15    (1) After the occurrence of an adverse event covered by
16this Act, the health care professional or health care provider
17must notify the patient and his or her family within 30 days
18after the discovery of the adverse event that he or she has a
19right to seek compensation.
20    (2) The patient must submit to the health care professional
21or health care provider, on forms prepared by the Commission
22and including all pertinent medical records, a claim describing
23the patient's account of the events. Although patients may
24involve legal counsel, it is not required.
25    (3) Once the health care professional or health care

 

 

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1provider receives the claim, he or she must notify the Illinois
2Health Courts Commission that a claim has been made. The
3notification must include a copy of the initial claim.
4    (4) A health care professional or health care provider must
5make an initial compensability determination and respond to the
6patient within 60 days after the receipt of the claim. If the
7event is compensable, the health care professional or health
8care provider must make an offer. The standard for review shall
9be determined by rule. The patient must receive a written
10report from the health care professional or health care
11provider explaining his or her determination that the claim is
12compensable, is not compensable, or is of unknown
13compensability. After the health care professional or health
14care provider reaches his or her decision, the patient may
15review the documents consulted by the health care professional
16or health care provider. The written report must also be
17submitted to the Commission.
18    (5) If the health care professional or health care provider
19determines that a claim is compensable, a schedule of damages
20must guide the compensation figure.
21    (6) A patient may appeal the health care professional's or
22health care provider's compensation decision to the Commission
23within 30 days. If the Commission disagrees with the initial
24determination it may amend the patient's award.
25    (7) The patient may also appeal the initial decision to not
26compensate the claim to the Commission and request review by an

 

 

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1arbitrator within 30 days. A claim shall be reviewed de novo
2using the same materials considered under the initial review. A
3hearing shall be held and the health care professional or
4provider and the patient may appear and present evidence. While
5a patient or a health care professional or provider may retain
6counsel, it is not necessary. Experts may give testimony.
7    (8) If a health care professional or health care provider
8cannot determine the compensability of the claim, an arbitrator
9for the Commission shall evaluate the claim. A patient need not
10file an appeal.
11    (9) If the arbitrator determines that the event is
12compensable, he or she must utilize the same schedule of
13damages as the health care professional or health care provider
14and also issue a written explanation for his or her
15determination.
16    (10) A patient may appeal the arbitrator's decision to the
17appellate court, which shall apply a deferential standard of
18review. The patient shall have access to all documents utilized
19by the arbitrator in rendering his or her decision.
20    (11) The arbitrator's written decision shall be stored in a
21searchable database. The database shall also include the
22general claim information from which identifying factors have
23been redacted.
24    (12) Illinois Health Courts Commission administrators must
25periodically contact a patient to determine whether the
26patient's compensation should be adjusted due to unanticipated

 

 

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1reasons. A patient may also apply directly to the Commission
2for an adjustment.
 
3    Section 20. Rules. The Commission shall adopt rules in
4accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
5including but not limited to dispute resolution time frames,
6official compensation, and the schedule of damages.
 
7    Section 25. Annual report. The Commission shall report in
8writing to the Governor on the 30th day of June, annually, the
9details and results of its administration of this Act, and may
10prepare and issue such special bulletins and reports from time
11to time as may seem advisable.