20 ILCS 3960/8.5 — Illinois Code / Chapter 20 / Act 3960 / Section 8.5
Section 8.5
Status: in_force

(20 ILCS 3960/8.5) (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2029) Sec. 8.5. Certificate of exemption for change of ownership of a health care facility; discontinuation of a 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 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 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 and to the Office of the Attorney General. 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. The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly are inoperative on and after January 1, 2027. (a-3) (Blank). (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. No later than 90 days after a discontinuation of a category of service, the applicant must submit a statement to the State Board certifying that the discontinuation is complete. (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. All interested persons attending the hearing shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present their positions in writing or orally. The applicant shall provide a summary or describe the proposed change of ownership 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. (d) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly shall apply to all applications submitted after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly. (Source: P.A. 103-526, eff. 1-1-24.)