093_SB1033

 
                                     LRB093 06803 AMC 06945 b

 1        AN ACT concerning health care.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 1.  Short title. This Act may  be  cited  as  the
 5    Hospital Access and Accountability Act.

 6        Section  5.  Health  facility  defined.  "Health facility
 7    means a facility that offers acute care  services,  including
 8    entities licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act.

 9        Section  10.  Notice  required.  A  nonprofit corporation
10    that operates a health facility shall give written notice  to
11    the  Attorney  General  20  days  before  it  sells,  leases,
12    conveys,  exchanges,  transfers, or otherwise disposes of all
13    or substantially all of its assets.

14        Section 15.  Notice; consent.
15        (a)  A   nonprofit   corporation,   including   religious
16    organizations, that operates or controls a health facility or
17    operates or controls a facility that provides similar  health
18    care  shall  be  required to provide written notice to and to
19    obtain the written consent of the Attorney General  prior  to
20    entering  into  any  agreement or transaction to do either of
21    the following:
22             (1)  Sell,  transfer,   lease,   exchange,   option,
23        convey,   or   otherwise  dispose  of  its  assets  to  a
24        for-profit or nonprofit  corporation  or  entity  when  a
25        material   amount   of   the   assets  of  the  nonprofit
26        corporation are involved in the agreement or transaction.
27             (2)  Transfer control, responsibility, or governance
28        of a material amount of the assets or operations  of  the
29        nonprofit  corporation  to  any  for-profit  or nonprofit
 
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 1        corporation  or  entity  or   to   any   mutual   benefit
 2        corporation or entity.
 3        The  substitution  of  a  new corporate member or members
 4    that  transfers  the  control  of,  responsibility  for,   or
 5    governance  of  the  nonprofit  corporation shall be deemed a
 6    transfer for the purposes of this Act.  The  substitution  of
 7    one or more members of the governing body or any arrangement,
 8    written  or  oral,  that would transfer voting control of the
 9    members of the governing body shall also be deemed a transfer
10    for the purposes of this Act.
11        (b)  The notice to the Attorney General provided  for  in
12    this  Section  shall include and contain the information that
13    the Attorney General  determines  is  required.  The  notice,
14    including  any  other  information  provided  to the Attorney
15    General under this Act, and that is in the public file, shall
16    be made available by the Attorney General to  the  public  in
17    written  form  within  30  days  after  it is received by the
18    Attorney General.
19        (c)  This Section shall apply to  any  foreign  nonprofit
20    corporation  that operates or controls a health facility or a
21    facility that provides similar health care.

22        Section 20.  Attorney General's decision. Within 60  days
23    after  receiving  the  written notice required by Section 15,
24    the Attorney General shall notify the  nonprofit  corporation
25    in  writing  of  the decision to consent to, give conditional
26    consent to, or not consent to the agreement  or  transaction.
27    The   Attorney  General  may  extend  this  period   for  one
28    additional 45-day period if any of the  following  conditions
29    are satisfied:
30             (1)  The    extension   is   necessary   to   obtain
31        information.
32             (2)  The  proposed  agreement  or   transaction   is
33        substantially  modified  after  the  first public meeting
 
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 1        conducted by the Attorney General.
 2             (3)  The proposed agreement or transaction  involves
 3        a    multifacility   health   system   serving   multiple
 4        communities, rather than a single facility.

 5        Section 25.  Public meetings. Prior to issuing a  written
 6    decision,  the  Attorney  General  shall  conduct one or more
 7    public meetings, one of which shall be in the county in which
 8    the facility is located, to  hear  comments  from  interested
 9    parties.  At  least  14  days  before  conducting  the public
10    meeting, the Attorney General shall provide written notice of
11    the time and place of the meeting through publication in  one
12    or  more  newspapers  of  general circulation in the affected
13    community,  on  the  Attorney  General's  Website,   and   by
14    informing the board of supervisors of the county in which the
15    facility  is located. If a substantive change in the proposed
16    agreement or transaction is submitted to the Attorney General
17    after the initial public meeting, the  Attorney  General  may
18    conduct  an  additional  public meeting to hear comments from
19    interested parties with respect to that change.

20        Section 30.  Attorney General's powers; costs; contracts.
21        (a)  Within the time periods designated  in  Section  15,
22    the Attorney General may do the following:
23             (1)  Contract with, consult, and receive advice from
24        any  State  agency on those terms and conditions that the
25        Attorney General deems appropriate.
26             (2)  In his or her sole  discretion,  contract  with
27        experts   or  consultants  to  assist  in  reviewing  the
28        proposed agreement or transaction.
29        (b)  Contract costs shall not exceed an  amount  that  is
30    reasonable   and   necessary   to   conduct  the  review  and
31    evaluation. The nonprofit corporation,  upon  request,  shall
32    pay the Attorney General promptly for all contract costs.
 
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 1        (c)  The   Attorney   General   shall   be   entitled  to
 2    reimbursement from the nonprofit corporation for all  actual,
 3    reasonable,  direct  costs incurred in reviewing, evaluating,
 4    and  making  the  determination  referred  to  in  this  Act,
 5    including administrative  costs.  The  nonprofit  corporation
 6    shall  promptly  pay  the Attorney General, upon request, for
 7    all of those costs.
 8        (d)  In order to monitor effectively  ongoing  compliance
 9    with  the  terms  and  conditions  of any sale or transfer of
10    assets, including, but not limited to, the ongoing use of the
11    charitable assets in  a  manner  consistent  with  the  trust
12    pursuant to which they are held, the Attorney General may, in
13    his  or  her  sole  discretion,  contract  with  experts  and
14    consultants to assist in this regard.
15        Contract  costs  shall  not  exceed  an  amount  that  is
16    reasonable   and   necessary   to   conduct  the  review  and
17    evaluation. The nonprofit corporation shall pay the  Attorney
18    General promptly for all contract costs.
19        The  Attorney  General shall be entitled to reimbursement
20    from the nonprofit corporation for  all  actual,  reasonable,
21    and  direct  costs  incurred in monitoring ongoing compliance
22    with the terms and conditions of  the  sale  or  transfer  of
23    assets,   including   administrative   costs.  The  nonprofit
24    corporation shall promptly  pay  the  Attorney  General  upon
25    request for all of those costs.

26        Section   35.  Attorney  General  consent;  factors.  The
27    Attorney General shall have discretion to  consent  to,  give
28    conditional  consent  to,  or not consent to any agreement or
29    transaction  described  in  Section   15.   In   making   the
30    determination,   the  Attorney  General  shall  consider  any
31    factors that the Attorney General deems  relevant,  including
32    but not limited to, whether any of the following apply:
33             (1)  The  agreement  or  transaction  will result in
 
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 1        inurement to any private person or entity.
 2             (2)  The proposed  use  of  the  proceeds  from  the
 3        agreement   or   transaction   is   consistent  with  the
 4        charitable trust on which the  assets  are  held  by  the
 5        health  facility  or  by  the affiliated nonprofit health
 6        system.
 7             (3)  The  agreement  or  transaction   involves   or
 8        constitutes any breach of trust.
 9             (4)  The  Attorney  General  has  been provided with
10        sufficient  information  and  data   by   the   nonprofit
11        corporation  to  evaluate  adequately  the  agreement  or
12        transaction or the effects thereof on the public.
13             (5)  The  agreement  or  transaction  may  create  a
14        significant  effect  on the availability or accessibility
15        of health care services to the affected community.
16             (6)  The proposed agreement or transaction is in the
17        public interest and is consistent with State and  federal
18        laws.
19             (7)  Any corporation involved in the transaction has
20        not  engaged  in  unfair or deceptive practices regarding
21        patients or employees.