SB 1312 — Health Facility; Nursing Home (Illinois) — Summary
Jurisdiction: State of Illinois (104th General Assembly)
Statutes amended: Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act (20 ILCS 3960/5.4) and the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5‑21001)
Status: Enacted as Public Act 25‑117; signed by governor (2025)
Purpose
- To strengthen review of projects affecting county‑operated nursing homes by (1) requiring Safety Net Impact Statements for such projects and ownership changes, (2) explicitly listing county nursing homes as safety‑net providers, and (3) adjusting county board procedures for selling or leasing county homes (nursing homes).
Key provisions
- Safety Net Impact Statement requirement
- County‑operated nursing homes (whether or not licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act) must file a Safety Net Impact Statement with applications for substantive projects and with applications to change ownership.
- Safety Net Impact Statements must describe the project’s material impact on essential safety‑net services and on racial and health‑care disparities (to the extent the applicant reasonably knows), impacts on other providers’ ability to cross‑subsidize safety‑net services, and the effect of discontinuing services.
- For the three fiscal years prior to the application applicants must certify: charity care (hospitals per Community Benefits Act reporting; non‑hospitals per Board methodology) and the amount of care provided to Medicaid patients. County nursing homes must also provide the number of the facility’s Medicaid‑ and Medicare‑certified beds for the prior three fiscal years.
- Applicants may submit additional relevant information (e.g., teaching, research).
State Board Staff review
- The State Board staff report must state whether a Safety Net Impact Statement was filed and include related details (charity care, Medicaid data, responses).
- When an application (a) proposes a substantive project at a county‑operated nursing home, (b) proposes a change of ownership of such a nursing home, or (c) proposes to discontinue services at such a facility, the Staff Report must include findings about the application’s safety‑net impact.
- Those findings are to be considered in determining whether the project satisfies the Act’s public interest requirements.
Counties Code changes (county homes)
- Removes the prior requirement that two‑thirds of a county board’s members be necessary to sell, dispose of, or lease county home property.
- Requires a referendum before selling any county home (eliminating a prior carve‑out that treated homes erected after voter referendum differently).
- Provides specific referendum language and removes a prior provision allowing leasing by a 3/5 board vote for certain homes.
Who is affected
- County governments that operate nursing homes and their governing boards
- Applicants seeking to build, modify, change ownership of, or discontinue services at county nursing homes
- Residents and communities served by county nursing homes (including Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries)
- The Illinois Health Facilities and Planning Board (staff) and other stakeholders who comment on applications
Procedural/timeline notes
- Safety Net Impact Statements and supporting data cover the three fiscal years prior to filing.
- State Board staff must include safety‑net findings in reports for specified types of applications; those findings inform final determinations under the Health Facilities Planning Act.
- Enacted as Public Act 25‑117 (2025); consult the Act text for exact effective dates and any transitional provisions.
Related: Companion legislation HB 993.
