Bill
HB 3453
Requires 120-day public notice and a meeting before closing or eliminating inpatient psychiatric or perinatal units at Illinois general acute care hospitals, with county input.
Summary
- Purpose: Require advance public notice and a public meeting when a general acute care hospital in Illinois is considering closure or elimination of either an inpatient psychiatric unit or a perinatal unit. The bill is intended to increase transparency and provide local officials and the public an opportunity to comment before critical services are discontinued.
- Sponsor: Rep. Lilian Jiménez
- Companion: SB 1558
Key provisions
- New Section added to the Hospital Licensing Act (210 ILCS 85/10.12).
- 120-day notice: Any hospital or health system that operates a general acute care hospital must provide public notice of a proposed closure or elimination of an inpatient psychiatric unit or a perinatal unit no less than 120 days before the proposed closure date.
- Notice recipients and posting: The notice must be submitted to (1) the Department (per the Hospital Licensing Act this refers to the state health licensing authority), (2) the governing body of the municipality where the hospital is located, (3) the governing body of the county where the hospital is located, and (4) physically posted in a publicly accessible location inside the hospital.
- Public meeting: The hospital or health system must hold at least one noticed public meeting within 60 days after providing the notice. Meeting notice must follow the same submission/posting requirements.
- County board participation: Members of the county board where the hospital resides must be invited to the public meeting and given an opportunity to testify about the impact of the service elimination on the county and other community health systems.
Who is affected
- Hospitals/health systems operating general acute care hospitals in Illinois that have inpatient psychiatric units or perinatal units.
- Local governments (municipal and county governing bodies) and county board members.
- Patients and communities that rely on inpatient psychiatric services or perinatal services, and other area health providers that may absorb displaced demand.
Procedural status and timeline (selected actions)
- Filed/introduced in February 2025 (Rep. Lilian Jiménez).
- Referred to Rules Committee, then to Human Services; considered in Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.
- Committee hearings and substitute reported favorably as substituted in April–May 2025.
- Placed on the General State Calendar on May 15, 2025 (most recent calendar action).
Potential impacts and considerations
- Transparency: Gives communities and local officials structured notice and a forum to assess impacts.
- Timing: The 120-day notice plus a meeting within 60 days provides a minimum lead time that could allow planning or mitigation.
- Operational/financial: Hospitals may face additional procedural steps before closures, which could affect timelines for financial or operational decisions.
- Access to care: If closures proceed, impacts on access to mental health and perinatal care could be assessed earlier by local health systems and policymakers.
How to follow
- Track companion SB 1558 and actions on the General State Calendar; monitor committee reports and any amendments before floor votes.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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