97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB3206

 

Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. André M. Thapedi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
770 ILCS 23/10
770 ILCS 23/30
770 ILCS 23/35
770 ILCS 23/45

    Amends the Health Care Services Lien Act. Provides that the total of all liens under the Act, including insurer reimbursement claims, (instead of all liens under the Act) shall not exceed 40% of a verdict, judgment, or settlement. Provides that a petition by an injured person or a health care provider to adjudicate the rights including liens of all interested parties may be served on interested parties by personal service, substitute service, or registered or certified mail. Provides that the Act applies to all insurers and their reimbursement claims and rights. Provides that if a patient provides his or her health insurance information to a health care professional or health care provider, the professional or provider is required to submit health care charges to the identified insurer and that the failure to do so voids the professional's or provider's lien and bars any collection action directly against the injured person. Limits the professional's or provider's lien to 66% of the charges that would have been submitted had the charge been presented to the insurer. Makes related changes.


LRB097 08386 AJO 48513 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3206LRB097 08386 AJO 48513 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Health Care Services Lien Act is amended by
5changing Sections 10, 30, 35, and 45 as follows:
 
6    (770 ILCS 23/10)
7    Sec. 10. Lien created; limitation.
8    (a) Every health care professional and health care provider
9that renders any service in the treatment, care, or maintenance
10of an injured person, except services rendered under the
11provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act or the Workers'
12Occupational Diseases Act, shall have a lien upon all claims
13and causes of action of the injured person for the amount of
14the health care professional's or health care provider's
15reasonable charges up to the date of payment of damages to the
16injured person. The total amount of all liens under this Act,
17including insurer reimbursement claims, however, shall not
18exceed 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or
19compromise secured by or on behalf of the injured person on his
20or her claim or right of action.
21    (b) The lien shall include a written notice containing the
22name and address of the injured person, the date of the injury,
23the name and address of the health care professional or health

 

 

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1care provider, and the name of the party alleged to be liable
2to make compensation to the injured person for the injuries
3received. The lien notice shall be served on both the injured
4person and the party against whom the claim or right of action
5exists. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
6payment in good faith to any person other than the healthcare
7professional or healthcare provider claiming or asserting such
8lien prior to the service of such notice of lien shall, to the
9extent of the payment so made, bar or prevent the creation of
10an enforceable lien. Service shall be made by registered or
11certified mail or in person.
12    (c) All health care professionals and health care providers
13holding liens under this Act with respect to a particular
14injured person shall share proportionate amounts within the
15statutory limitation set forth in subsection (a). The statutory
16limitations under this Section may be waived or otherwise
17reduced only by the lienholder. No individual licensed category
18of health care professional (such as physicians) or health care
19provider (such as hospitals) as set forth in Section 5,
20however, may receive more than one-third of the verdict,
21judgment, award, settlement, or compromise secured by or on
22behalf of the injured person on his or her claim or right of
23action. If the total amount of all liens under this Act meets
24or exceeds 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or
25compromise, then:
26        (1) all the liens of health care professionals shall

 

 

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1    not exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement,
2    or compromise; and
3        (2) all the liens of health care providers shall not
4    exceed 20% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or
5    compromise;
6provided, however, that health care services liens shall be
7satisfied to the extent possible for all health care
8professionals and health care providers by reallocating the
9amount unused within the aggregate total limitation of 40% for
10all health care services liens under this Act; and provided
11further that the amounts of liens under paragraphs (1) and (2)
12are subject to the one-third limitation under this subsection.
13     If the total amount of all liens under this Act meets or
14exceeds 40% of the verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or
15compromise, the total amount of all the liens of attorneys
16under the Attorneys Lien Act shall not exceed 30% of the
17verdict, judgment, award, settlement, or compromise. If an
18appeal is taken by any party to a suit based on the claim or
19cause of action, however, the attorney's lien shall not be
20affected or limited by the provisions of this Act.
21    (d) If services furnished by health care professionals and
22health care providers are billed at one all-inclusive rate, the
23total reasonable charges for those services shall be reasonably
24allocated among the health care professionals and health care
25providers and treated as separate liens for purposes of this
26Act, including the filing of separate lien notices. For

 

 

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1services provided under an all-inclusive rate, the liens of
2health care professionals and health care providers may be
3asserted by the entity that bills the all-inclusive rate.
4    (e) Payments under the liens shall be made directly to the
5health care professionals and health care providers. For
6services provided under an all-inclusive rate, payments under
7liens shall be made directly to the entity that bills the
8all-inclusive rate.
9(Source: P.A. 93-51, eff. 7-1-03.)
 
10    (770 ILCS 23/30)
11    Sec. 30. Adjudication of rights. On petition filed by the
12injured person or the health care professional or health care
13provider and on the petitioner's written notice to all
14interested adverse parties, the circuit court shall adjudicate
15the rights of all interested parties and enforce their liens. A
16petition filed under this Section may be served upon an
17interested adverse party by personal service, substitute
18service, or registered or certified mail.
19(Source: P.A. 93-51, eff. 7-1-03.)
 
20    (770 ILCS 23/35)
21    Sec. 35. Liens created under prior law. A lien validly
22created under the Clinical Psychologists Lien Act, the Dentists
23Lien Act, the Emergency Medical Services Personnel Lien Act,
24Home Health Agency Lien Act, the Hospital Lien Act, the

 

 

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1Optometrists Lien Act, the Physical Therapist Lien Act, or the
2Physicians Lien Act remains in full force and effect on and
3after July 1, 2003. Such a lien shall be enforceable according
4to, and otherwise governed by, the provisions of the Act or
5Code under which it was created, as those provisions existed on
6June 30, 2003. This Act shall also apply to an insurer and an
7insurer's reimbursement claims and rights.
8(Source: P.A. 93-51, eff. 7-1-03.)
 
9    (770 ILCS 23/45)
10    Sec. 45. Amounts not recovered under lien.
11    (a) Except as provided in this Section, Nothing in this Act
12shall be construed as limiting the right of a health care
13professional or health care provider, or attorney, to pursue
14collection, through all available means, of its reasonable
15charges for the services it furnishes to an injured person.
16Except as provided in this Section, Notwithstanding any other
17provision of law, a lien holder may seek payment of the amount
18of its reasonable charges that remain not paid after the
19satisfaction of its lien under this Act. If the patient
20provides health insurance information, a health care
21professional or health care provider is required to submit the
22professional's or provider's charges to an injured person's
23insurer; failure to do so will make the health care
24professional's or health care provider's lien void and will act
25as a bar to any collection directly against the injured person.

 

 

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1The health care professional's or health care provider's lien
2shall be limited to 66% of the amount that the insurer would
3have paid had the charges been submitted to the insurer.
4    (b) If a lien or claim exists with respect to a claim for
5personal injuries or death and the injured person's recovery is
6diminished:
7        (1) by comparative fault, or
8        (2) by reason of the uncollectability of the full value
9    of the claim for personal injuries or death resulting from
10    limited liability insurance or from any other cause,
11then the lien or claim shall be diminished in the same
12proportion as the injured person's recovery is diminished. The
13party holding the lien or claim shall bear a pro-rata share of
14the injured person's attorney's fees and litigation expenses
15and shall be barred from pursuing any claim for the unpaid
16balance.
17(Source: P.A. 93-51, eff. 7-1-03.)