Public Act 099-0551
 
HB4964 EnrolledLRB099 19300 RJF 43692 b


  
    AN ACT concerning State government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act is 
amended  by changing Section 8.5 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 3960/8.5)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2019)
    Sec. 8.5. Certificate of exemption for change of ownership 
of a health care facility; discontinuation of a health care 
facility or category of service; public notice and public 
hearing.
    (a) Upon a finding that an application for a change of 
ownership is complete, the State Board shall publish a legal 
notice on one day in a newspaper of general circulation in the 
area or community to be affected and afford the public an 
opportunity to request a hearing. If the application is for a 
facility located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area, an 
additional legal notice shall be published in a newspaper of 
limited circulation, if one exists, in the area in which the 
facility is located. If the newspaper of limited circulation is 
published on a daily basis, the additional legal notice shall 
be published on one day. The applicant shall pay the cost 
incurred by the Board in publishing the change of ownership 
notice in newspapers as required under this subsection. The 
legal notice shall also be posted on the Health Facilities and 
Services Review Board's web site and sent to the State 
Representative and State Senator of the district in which the 
health care facility is located. An application for change of 
ownership of a hospital shall not be deemed complete without a 
signed certification that for a period of 2 years after the 
change of ownership transaction is effective, the hospital will 
not adopt a charity care policy that is
more restrictive than 
the policy in effect during the year prior to the transaction. 
An application for a change of ownership need not contain 
signed transaction documents so long as it includes the 
following key terms of the transaction:  names and background of 
the parties; structure of the transaction; the person who will 
be the licensed or certified entity after the transaction; the 
ownership or membership interests in such licensed or certified 
entity both prior to and after the transaction; fair market 
value of assets to be transferred; and the purchase price or 
other form of consideration to be provided for those assets. 
The issuance of the certificate of exemption shall be 
contingent upon the applicant submitting a statement to the 
Board within 90 days after the closing date of the transaction, 
or such longer period as provided by the Board, certifying that 
the change of ownership has been completed in accordance with 
the key terms contained in the application.  If such key terms 
of the transaction change, a new application shall be required. 
    Where a change of ownership is among related persons, and 
there are no other changes being proposed at the health care 
facility that would otherwise require a permit or exemption 
under this Act, the applicant shall submit an application 
consisting of a standard notice in a form set forth by the 
Board briefly explaining the reasons for the proposed change of 
ownership. Once such an application is submitted to the Board 
and reviewed by the Board staff, the Board Chair shall take 
action on an application for an exemption for a change of 
ownership among related persons within 45 days after the 
application has been deemed complete, provided the application 
meets the applicable standards under this Section.  If the Board 
Chair has a conflict of interest or for other good cause, the 
Chair may request review by the Board. Notwithstanding  any 
other provision of this Act, for purposes of this Section, a 
change of ownership among related persons means a transaction 
where the parties to the transaction are under common control 
or ownership before and after the transaction is completed.
    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the 
Board to impose any conditions, obligations, or limitations, 
other than those required by this Section, with respect to the 
issuance of an exemption for a change of ownership, including, 
but not limited to, the time period before which a subsequent 
change of ownership of the health care facility could be 
sought, or the commitment to continue to offer for a specified 
time period any services currently offered by the health care 
facility.
    (a-3) Upon a finding that an application to close a health 
care facility is complete, the State Board shall publish a 
legal notice on 3 consecutive days in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the area or community to be affected and afford 
the public an opportunity to request a hearing. If the 
application is for a facility located in a Metropolitan 
Statistical Area, an additional legal notice shall be published 
in a newspaper of limited circulation, if one exists, in the 
area in which the facility is located. If the newspaper of 
limited circulation is published on a daily basis, the 
additional legal notice shall be published on 3 consecutive 
days. The legal notice shall also be posted on the Health 
Facilities and Services Review Board's web site and sent to the 
State Representative and State Senator of the district in which 
the health care facility is located. In addition, the health 
care facility shall provide notice of closure to the local 
media that the health care facility would routinely notify 
about facility events. 
    (a-5) Upon a finding that an application to discontinue a 
category of service is complete and provides the requested 
information, as specified by the State Board, an exemption 
shall be issued.  No later than 30 days after the issuance of 
the exemption, the health care facility must give written 
notice of the discontinuation of the category of service to the 
State Senator and State Representative serving the legislative 
district in which the health care facility is located. 
    (b) If a public hearing is requested, it shall be held at 
least 15 days but no more than 30 days after the date of 
publication of the legal notice in the community in which the 
facility is located. The hearing shall be held in the affected 
area or community in a place of reasonable size and 
accessibility and a full and complete written transcript of the 
proceedings shall be made. The applicant shall provide a 
summary of the proposal for distribution at the public hearing.

    (c) For the purposes of this Section "newspaper of limited 
circulation" means a newspaper intended to serve a particular 
or defined population of a specific geographic area within a 
Metropolitan Statistical Area such as a municipality, town, 
village, township, or community area, but does not include 
publications of professional and trade associations. 
(Source: P.A. 98-1086, eff. 8-26-14; 99-154, eff. 7-28-15.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.