Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/2/2012

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1474

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1474 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by reenacting
5Section 5.661 as follows:
 
6    (30 ILCS 105/5.661)
7    Sec. 5.661. The Sorry Works! Fund.
8(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
9    Section 10. The Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act is amended
10by reenacting the heading of Article 4 and Sections 401, 405,
11and 410 and by reenacting and changing Section 415 as follows:
 
12    (710 ILCS 45/Art. 4 heading)
13
ARTICLE 4. SORRY WORKS! PILOT PROGRAM ACT
14(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 

 

 

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1    (710 ILCS 45/401)
2    Sec. 401. Short title. This Article 4 may be cited as the
3Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act, and references in this Article
4to "this Act" mean this Article.
5(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 
6    (710 ILCS 45/405)
7    Sec. 405. Sorry Works! pilot program. The Sorry Works!
8pilot program is established. During the first year of the
9program's operation, participation in the program shall be open
10to one hospital. Hospitals may participate only with the
11approval of the hospital administration and the hospital's
12organized medical staff. During the second year of the
13program's operation, participation in the program shall be open
14to one additional hospital.
15    The first participating hospital selected by the committee
16established under Section 410 shall be located in a county with
17a population greater than 200,000 that is contiguous with the
18Mississippi River.
19    Under the program, participating hospitals and physicians
20shall promptly acknowledge and apologize for mistakes in
21patient care and promptly offer fair settlements.
22Participating hospitals shall encourage patients and families
23to retain their own legal counsel to ensure that their rights
24are protected and to help facilitate negotiations for fair

 

 

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1settlements. Participating hospitals shall report to the
2committee their total costs for healing art malpractice
3verdicts, settlements, and defense litigation for the
4preceding 5 years to enable the committee to determine average
5costs for that hospital during that period. The committee shall
6develop standards and protocols to compare costs for cases
7handled by traditional means and cases handled under the Sorry
8Works! protocol.
9    If the committee determines that the total costs of cases
10handled under the Sorry Works! protocol by a hospital
11participating in the program exceed the total costs that would
12have been incurred if the cases had been handled by traditional
13means, the hospital may apply for a grant from the Sorry Works!
14Fund, a special fund that is created in the State Treasury, for
15an amount, as determined by the committee, by which the total
16costs exceed the total costs that would have been incurred if
17the cases had been handled by traditional means; however, the
18total of all grants from the Fund for cases in any single
19participating hospital in any year may not exceed the amount in
20the Fund or $2,000,000, whichever is less. All grants shall be
21subject to appropriation. Moneys in the Fund shall consist of
22funds transferred into the Fund or otherwise made available
23from any source.
24(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 
25    (710 ILCS 45/410)

 

 

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1    Sec. 410. Establishment of committee.
2    (a) A committee is established to develop, oversee, and
3implement the Sorry Works! pilot program. The committee shall
4have 9 members, each of whom shall be a voting member. Six
5members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. The
6committee shall be comprised as follows:
7        (1) The President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of
8    the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
9    and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives
10    shall each appoint 2 members.
11        (2) The Secretary of Financial and Professional
12    Regulation or his or her designee.
13    (b) The committee shall establish criteria for the program,
14including but not limited to: selection of hospitals,
15physicians, and insurers to participate in the program; and
16creation of a subcommittee to review cases from hospitals and
17determine whether hospitals, physicians, and insurers are
18entitled to compensation under the program.
19    (c) The committee shall communicate with hospitals,
20physicians, and insurers that are interested in participating
21in the program. The committee shall make final decisions as to
22which applicants are accepted for the program.
23    (d) The committee shall report to the Governor and the
24General Assembly annually.
25    (e) The committee shall publish data regarding the program.
26    (f) Committee members shall receive no compensation for the

 

 

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1performance of their duties as members, but each member shall
2be paid necessary expenses while engaged in the performance of
3those duties.
4(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 
5    (710 ILCS 45/415)
6    Sec. 415. Termination of program.
7    (a) The program may be terminated at any time if the
8committee, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, votes to
9terminate the program.
10    (b) If the program is not terminated under subsection (a),
11the program shall terminate after its second year of operation
12following its reenactment by this amendatory Act of the 97th
13General Assembly.
14(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.".