SR0570 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0570 LRB093 22321 BDD 51441 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Health Facilities Planning Board (the Board) was created by the passage of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act (the Act), which was originally approved and became effective on August 27, 1974; and

WHEREAS, The Act has as its stated purposes: (1) "to establish a procedure to reverse the trends of increasing costs of health care resulting from unnecessary construction or modification of health care facilities"; and (2) to establish a procedure for the "orderly and economic development of health care facilities"; and

WHEREAS, The Governor appointed 9 new members and a new Executive Secretary of the Board; and

WHEREAS, Mercy Crystal Lake Hospital and Medical Center filed an application on or about July 8, 2003 seeking a Certificate of Need to construct a 70-bed hospital in Crystal Lake, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Questions have been raised as to whether that application complied with the Board's rules; and

WHEREAS, A public hearing was held to allow the public to comment on the application, and the comments were overwhelmingly negative; and

WHEREAS, Six hospitals objected at the public hearing and provided extensive testimony and documentation to the effect that:

(a) The project is not cost effective and is counter to the cost containment purpose of the Act;

(b) The project does not improve access to necessary health care;

(c) The project does not improve the quality of available health care;

(d) The project represents unnecessary duplication of health care services; and

(e) The application does not comply with the rules of the Board; and

WHEREAS, Two of the objecting hospitals, located in McHenry County, provide substantial community services, including behavioral health services and rehabilitation services, as well as support for local clinics that provide care to the uninsured; and

WHEREAS, According to studies prepared by financial experts, the construction of the hospital as proposed by Mercy, will, to the detriment of overall community health, substantially undermine the financial ability of these hospitals to continue providing these services; and

WHEREAS, The Board's staff prepared a report analyzing the application's compliance with the Board's rules and found that it did not comply with 9 of 13 major rules; and

WHEREAS, The application was first considered by the Board at its meeting held on December 17, 2003, and the comments of the Board members were openly negative prompting a vote of 8 to zero to deny the application; and

WHEREAS, The applicant subsequently submitted additional material to the Board that argued that the Board's rules were outdated; and

WHEREAS, The Board again considered the application on April 21, 2004, and, despite a negative staff report, the Board voted to approve the Certificate of Need for Mercy Crystal Lake Hospital and Medical Center; and

WHEREAS, The record is devoid of any testimony to refute the Board's own staff report or the extensive oral and written testimony submitted by objectors; and

WHEREAS, The Board has failed to reasonably explain the reason for its reversal on this matter; and

WHEREAS, According to physician manpower studies prepared by experts in the field, the hospitals located within 30 minutes of the site all recruit physicians to try to keep pace with a rapidly expanding population; and

WHEREAS, Our society is one of laws, and the General Assembly created the Board and approved its rules to fulfill the intended objectives of the Act and provide predictability to the health care community; and

WHEREAS, The actions by the Board contravene its own rules and appear contrary to the intent of the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Section 3-4 of the Illinois State Auditing Act, which implements subsection(b) of Section 3 of Article VIII of the Illinois Constitution, provides that the Auditor General shall make such investigations as are directed by either house of the General Assembly in a resolution specifying the acts, transactions, or practices to be the subject of the investigation; therefore be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct an investigation to examine the Illinois Health Facility Planning Board's approval of a Certificate of Need for Mercy Crystal Lake Hospital and Medical Center and to investigate the way the Board makes determinations concerning Certificates of Need in general; and be it further

RESOLVED, That on or before January 1, 2005, the Auditor General shall submit a report of his or her findings and recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Legislative Audit Commission and shall make copies of the report available to the public upon request; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Attorney General to conduct an investigation to examine the propriety of the Illinois Health Facility Planning Board's approval of a Certificate of Need for Mercy Crystal Lake Hospital and Medical Center and to investigate the way that the Board makes determinations concerning Certificates of Need in general; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to the Auditor General, the Attorney General, the Governor, the Legislative Audit Commission, and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.