HB1474ham001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/2/2012

09700HB1474ham001 LRB097 06730 EFG 67064 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1474

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1474 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by reenacting Section 5.661 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.661)

Sec. 5.661. The Sorry Works! Fund.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)

Section 10. The Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act is amended by reenacting the heading of Article 4 and Sections 401, 405, and 410 and by reenacting and changing Section 415 as follows:

(710 ILCS 45/Art. 4 heading)

ARTICLE 4. SORRY WORKS! PILOT PROGRAM ACT

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

(710 ILCS 45/401)

Sec. 401. Short title. This Article 4 may be cited as the Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act, and references in this Article to "this Act" mean this Article.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

(710 ILCS 45/405)

Sec. 405. Sorry Works! pilot program. The Sorry Works! pilot program is established. During the first year of the program's operation, participation in the program shall be open to one hospital. Hospitals may participate only with the approval of the hospital administration and the hospital's organized medical staff. During the second year of the program's operation, participation in the program shall be open to one additional hospital.

The first participating hospital selected by the committee established under Section 410 shall be located in a county with a population greater than 200,000 that is contiguous with the Mississippi River.

Under the program, participating hospitals and physicians shall promptly acknowledge and apologize for mistakes in patient care and promptly offer fair settlements. Participating hospitals shall encourage patients and families to retain their own legal counsel to ensure that their rights are protected and to help facilitate negotiations for fair settlements. Participating hospitals shall report to the committee their total costs for healing art malpractice verdicts, settlements, and defense litigation for the preceding 5 years to enable the committee to determine average costs for that hospital during that period. The committee shall develop standards and protocols to compare costs for cases handled by traditional means and cases handled under the Sorry Works! protocol.

If the committee determines that the total costs of cases handled under the Sorry Works! protocol by a hospital participating in the program exceed the total costs that would have been incurred if the cases had been handled by traditional means, the hospital may apply for a grant from the Sorry Works! Fund, a special fund that is created in the State Treasury, for an amount, as determined by the committee, by which the total costs exceed the total costs that would have been incurred if the cases had been handled by traditional means; however, the total of all grants from the Fund for cases in any single participating hospital in any year may not exceed the amount in the Fund or $2,000,000, whichever is less. All grants shall be subject to appropriation. Moneys in the Fund shall consist of funds transferred into the Fund or otherwise made available from any source.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

(710 ILCS 45/410)

Sec. 410. Establishment of committee.

(a) A committee is established to develop, oversee, and implement the Sorry Works! pilot program. The committee shall have 9 members, each of whom shall be a voting member. Six members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. The committee shall be comprised as follows:

(1) The President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each appoint 2 members.

(2) The Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation or his or her designee.

(b) The committee shall establish criteria for the program, including but not limited to: selection of hospitals, physicians, and insurers to participate in the program; and creation of a subcommittee to review cases from hospitals and determine whether hospitals, physicians, and insurers are entitled to compensation under the program.

(c) The committee shall communicate with hospitals, physicians, and insurers that are interested in participating in the program. The committee shall make final decisions as to which applicants are accepted for the program.

(d) The committee shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly annually.

(e) The committee shall publish data regarding the program.

(f) Committee members shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties as members, but each member shall be paid necessary expenses while engaged in the performance of those duties.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

(710 ILCS 45/415)

Sec. 415. Termination of program.

(a) The program may be terminated at any time if the committee, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, votes to terminate the program.

(b) If the program is not terminated under subsection (a), the program shall terminate after its second year of operation following its reenactment by this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".