Bill
SB 3239
Strengthens the State Board’s authority to review and decide on Certificates of Need and Exemption applications, emphasizing cost containment, planning, and access to essential hea
Title: HEALTH CARE FACILITY PLANNING
Jurisdiction: Illinois
Sponsor: Sen. Omar Aquino
Purpose and overall intent
- SB3239 amends the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act to revise the operations and authority of the Health Facilities and Services Review Board (State Board).
- The core aim is to strengthen the Board’s ability to review and decide on applications for Certificates of Need (Permits) and Certificates of Exemption, with emphasis on cost containment, orderly health system planning, and protection of public health and access to essential services.
- The bill preserves and clarifies ethics, ex parte communication controls, staff duties, hearings, and notice requirements related to facility construction, modification, ownership changes, or major medical equipment acquisitions.
Key provisions and changes (substantive)
- Board authority and review process
- The State Board may review applicable criteria when considering exemptions and may approve, deny, or defer for additional information.
- The Board retains decision-making authority on exemptions and permits, subject to statutory procedures and rules.
- Definitions (Section 3)
- Clarifies terms such as Certificate of Need, Certificate of Exemption, capital expenditure minimums, major medical equipment, areawide/local regions, and other key terms used in permit/exemption decisions.
- Defines various health care facilities covered (hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, kidney disease treatment centers, etc.) and exclusions (e.g., federally owned facilities, certain religious/healing facilities, etc.).
- Introduces and clarifies concepts like “areawide” and “local” planning regions, non-clinical service areas, and changes of ownership “among related persons.”
- Board structure, appointment, and ethics (Section 4)
- Maintains an 11-member State Board with defined staffing and ex officio members.
- Adds emphasis on geographic/ethnic diversity, conflicts of interest disclosures, and ethics compliance.
- Specifies meeting cadence (at least every 45 days) and quorum (6 members).
- Ex parte communications (Section 4.2)
- Strengthens rules prohibiting ex parte communications once an application is formally filed, with limited exceptions for technical assistance and required public record documentation.
- Requires written records of communications and public availability of staff reports.
- Permits, exemptions, and implementation (Sections 5–6)
- Permit/exemption standards: Board decision criteria include public interest, orderly/economic development, capacity, quality, value, equity, and impact on access to essential services.
- Permits required for construction/modification or major equipment when above capital expenditure minimums or when changing bed capacity in specified ways.
- Exemption process allowed for certain changes (e.g., change of ownership among related parties, discontinuation of a category of service) with defined timelines and conditions.
- Authority may delegate some permit exemptions to the Chair for unopposed, criteria-meeting applications.
- Permits are project-specific with defined validity, transferability, and reporting requirements (final cost report within 90 days after completion; annual progress reports on expenditures and commitments; extension possibilities for delays).
- Public notice, hearings, and staff reports (Sections 6.2, 8.5, 8.7)
- Mandatory public notice and hearings for certain exemptions and permit actions, including publication in newspapers and posting on the Board’s site.
- Public hearings may be requested and must be conducted with documentation of testimony and a transcript.
- Exemption/public notice requirements include specifics for changes of ownership, discontinuations, and notices to legislators.
- For changes of ownership, a hospital must certify charity care policy continuity for two years post-transaction.
- Administrative procedures and hearings (Sections 10–11)
- Specifies procedures for administrative hearings following initial denial or revocation, including rights to a hearing before an administrative law judge, timelines, and record-keeping.
- Judicial review process remains available under the Administrative Review Law.
- Planning and inventory (Section 12)
- Board to develop health care facility plans, inventories, and criteria for planning; inventories updated annually by July 1.
- Planning factors include population growth, existing facilities, utilization, personnel availability, multi-institutional planning, financial feasibility, and consideration of needs of religiously affiliated facilities.
Who is affected
- Health care facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, kidney disease treatment centers, etc.) seeking to construct, modify, establish, or acquire major medical equipment.
- Owners and related parties undergoing changes in ownership or seeking exemptions for certain transitions.
- Public and community stakeholders who participate in the public notice and hearing processes.
- State Board staff and healthcare policymakers responsible for administering permits, exemptions, and planning activities.
- Medically underserved areas, safety-net services, and consumer advocates due to emphasis on access, equity, and cost containment.
Timeline and applicability
- The bill sets ongoing procedures for applications, hearings, and reporting.
- Some provisions reference timelines (e.g., public notice periods, hearing windows, reporting deadlines) and project timeframes for completion and reporting.
- Effective date: As introduced in 2026; several sections reference consistency with prior amendments and potential inoperative dates tied to earlier legislative actions (per prior statutory context). The bill as introduced does not list a future repeal date but codifies current practices with updated procedures.
Notes
- The bill preserves an approach to require Board review for major health care expansion or changes, while enhancing transparency (public notices, hearings) and ethics/ex parte rules.
- It emphasizes cost containment and support for safety-net services within the Certificate of Need framework.
If you’d like, I can extract a concise bullet-point briefing for policymakers or provide a side-by-side comparison with current law to highlight all changes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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