210 ILCS 85/4.8: Additional licensing requirements.

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)

(a) Hospital emergency and financial contingency plan. Any hospital licensed under this Act that has outstanding debts to the State in the form of tax arrears or that maintains debt through the Distressed Hospital Loan Program or other Medicaid advance payments shall submit to the Department a hospital emergency and financial contingency plan for the rapid and orderly resolution of finances and operations in the event of material financial distress. The plan shall be submitted on an annual basis until any outstanding assessment or advance balances have been fully paid. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, procedures for the safe and orderly transfer and continuity of care for patients if closure of at least one category of service, or a temporary suspension of such service for any reason, were to occur. Potential events precipitating closure or suspended services that shall be addressed in the plan, include, but are not limited to: financial distress, regulatory and compliance issues, operational or workforce challenges, infrastructure and facility issues, emergency or disaster related causes, and strategic organizational decisions. The plan shall contemplate (i) the identification of potential service area gaps created due to emergency closure and suspension of services and (ii) the orderly preservation and transfer of medical records in accordance with the Medical Patient Rights Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and other applicable medical privacy laws.

(b) Hospital emergency and financial contingency plans for hospitals with multiple locations operating under a single license. Any hospital licensed by the Department under Section 4.5 of this Act and required to submit a hospital emergency and financial contingency plan shall submit a hospital emergency and financial contingency plan as outlined in subsection (a) considering each location, campus, or facility administered under the license that could reasonably be affected.

(c) Annual filing. Hospital emergency and financial contingency plans shall be filed with the Department no later than 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly. Hospital emergency and financial contingency plans, or annual affirmations of previously filed hospital emergency and financial contingency plans, as outlined in this Section shall be submitted on an annual basis as determined by the Department through administrative rule.

(d) Penalties for noncompliance. The Department may impose fines of not more than $500 per week for failure to comply with the provisions of this Section.

(e) This Section is operative on and after January 1, 2027.