Full Text of SB0475 94th General Assembly
SB0475enr 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning insurance.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| ARTICLE 1. FINDINGS | 5 |
| Section 101. Findings. The General Assembly finds as | 6 |
| follows: | 7 |
| (1) The increasing cost of medical liability insurance | 8 |
| results in increased financial burdens on physicians and | 9 |
| hospitals. | 10 |
| (2) The increasing cost of medical liability insurance | 11 |
| in Illinois is believed to have contributed to the | 12 |
| reduction of the availability of medical care in portions | 13 |
| of the State and is believed to have discouraged some | 14 |
| medical students from choosing Illinois as the place they | 15 |
| will receive their medical education and practice | 16 |
| medicine. | 17 |
| (3) The public would benefit from making the services | 18 |
| of hospitals and physicians more available. | 19 |
| (4) This health care crisis, which endangers the public | 20 |
| health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Illinois, | 21 |
| requires significant reforms to the civil justice system | 22 |
| currently endangering health care for citizens of | 23 |
| Illinois. Limiting non-economic damages is one of these | 24 |
| significant reforms designed to benefit the people of the | 25 |
| State of Illinois. An increasing number of citizens or | 26 |
| municipalities are enacting ordinances that limit damages | 27 |
| and help maintain the health care delivery system in | 28 |
| Illinois and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the | 29 |
| people of Illinois. | 30 |
| (5) In order to preserve the public health, safety, and | 31 |
| welfare of the
people of Illinois, the current medical | 32 |
| malpractice situation requires reforms that enhance
the |
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| State's oversight of physicians and ability to discipline | 2 |
| physicians, that increase the
State's oversight of medical | 3 |
| liability insurance carriers, that reduce the number of | 4 |
| nonmeritorious healing art malpractice actions, that limit | 5 |
| non-economic damages in healing art malpractice actions, | 6 |
| that encourage physicians to provide
voluntary services at | 7 |
| free medical clinics, that encourage physicians and | 8 |
| hospitals to
continue providing health care services in | 9 |
| Illinois, and that encourage physicians to practice in | 10 |
| medical care shortage areas. | 11 |
| ARTICLE 3. AMENDATORY PROVISIONS
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| Section 310. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by | 13 |
| changing Sections 155.18, 155.19, and 1204 and by adding | 14 |
| Section 155.18a as follows:
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| (215 ILCS 5/155.18) (from Ch. 73, par. 767.18)
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| Sec. 155.18. (a) This Section shall apply to insurance on | 17 |
| risks based
upon negligence by a physician, hospital or other | 18 |
| health care provider,
referred to herein as medical liability | 19 |
| insurance. This Section shall not
apply to contracts of | 20 |
| reinsurance, nor to any farm, county, district or
township | 21 |
| mutual insurance company transacting business under an Act | 22 |
| entitled
"An Act relating to local mutual district, county and | 23 |
| township insurance
companies", approved March 13, 1936, as now | 24 |
| or hereafter amended, nor to
any such company operating under a | 25 |
| special charter.
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| (b) The following standards shall apply to the making and | 27 |
| use of rates
pertaining to all classes of medical liability | 28 |
| insurance:
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| (1) Rates shall not be excessive or inadequate , as | 30 |
| herein defined, nor
shall they be unfairly discriminatory. | 31 |
| No rate shall be held to be excessive
unless such rate is | 32 |
| unreasonably high for the insurance provided, and a
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| reasonable degree of competition does not exist in the area |
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| with respect
to the classification to which such rate is | 2 |
| applicable.
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| No rate shall be held inadequate unless it is | 4 |
| unreasonably low for the
insurance provided and continued | 5 |
| use of it would endanger solvency of the company.
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| (2) Consideration shall be given, to the extent | 7 |
| applicable, to past and
prospective loss experience within | 8 |
| and outside this State, to a reasonable
margin for | 9 |
| underwriting profit and contingencies, to past and | 10 |
| prospective
expenses both countrywide and those especially | 11 |
| applicable to this State,
and to all other factors, | 12 |
| including judgment factors, deemed relevant within
and | 13 |
| outside this State.
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| Consideration may also be given in the making and use | 15 |
| of rates to dividends,
savings or unabsorbed premium | 16 |
| deposits allowed or returned by companies
to their | 17 |
| policyholders, members or subscribers.
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| (3) The systems of expense provisions included in the | 19 |
| rates for use by
any company or group of companies may | 20 |
| differ from those of other companies
or groups of companies | 21 |
| to reflect the operating methods of any such company
or | 22 |
| group with respect to any kind of insurance, or with | 23 |
| respect to any subdivision
or combination thereof.
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| (4) Risks may be grouped by classifications for the | 25 |
| establishment of rates
and minimum premiums. | 26 |
| Classification rates may be modified to produce
rates for | 27 |
| individual risks in accordance with rating plans which | 28 |
| establish
standards for measuring variations in hazards or | 29 |
| expense provisions, or
both. Such standards may measure any | 30 |
| difference among risks that have a
probable effect upon | 31 |
| losses or expenses. Such classifications or modifications
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| of classifications of risks may be established based upon | 33 |
| size, expense,
management, individual experience, location | 34 |
| or dispersion of hazard, or
any other reasonable | 35 |
| considerations and shall apply to all risks under the
same | 36 |
| or substantially the same circumstances or conditions.
The |
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| rate for
an established classification should be related | 2 |
| generally to the anticipated
loss and expense factors of | 3 |
| the class.
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| (c) (1) Every company writing medical liability insurance | 5 |
| shall file with
the Secretary of Financial and Professional | 6 |
| Regulation
Director of Insurance the rates and rating schedules | 7 |
| it uses for medical
liability insurance. A rate shall go into | 8 |
| effect upon filing, except as otherwise provided in this | 9 |
| Section.
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| (2) If (i) 1% of a company's insureds within a specialty or | 11 |
| 25 of the company's insureds (whichever is greater) request a | 12 |
| public hearing, (ii) the Secretary at his or her discretion | 13 |
| decides to convene a public hearing, or (iii) the percentage | 14 |
| increase in a company's rate is greater than 6%, then the | 15 |
| Secretary shall convene a public hearing in accordance with | 16 |
| this paragraph (2). The Secretary shall notify the public of | 17 |
| any application by an insurer for a rate increase to which this | 18 |
| paragraph (2) applies. A public hearing under this paragraph | 19 |
| (2) must be concluded within 90 days after the request, | 20 |
| decision, or increase that gave rise to the hearing. The | 21 |
| Secretary may, by order, adjust a rate or take any other | 22 |
| appropriate action at the conclusion of the hearing. | 23 |
| (3) A rate
(1) This filing shall occur upon a company's | 24 |
| commencement of medical liability insurance business in this | 25 |
| State
at least annually
and thereafter as often as the rates
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| are changed or amended.
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| (4)
(2) For the purposes of this Section , any change in | 28 |
| premium to the company's
insureds as a result of a change in | 29 |
| the company's base rates or a change
in its increased limits | 30 |
| factors shall constitute a change in rates and shall
require a | 31 |
| filing with the Secretary
Director .
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| (5)
(3) It shall be certified in such filing by an officer | 33 |
| of the company
and a qualified actuary that the company's rates
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| are based on sound actuarial
principles and are not | 35 |
| inconsistent with the company's experience.
The Secretary may | 36 |
| request any additional statistical data and other pertinent |
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| information necessary to determine the manner the company used | 2 |
| to set the filed rates and the reasonableness of those rates. | 3 |
| This data and information shall be made available, on a | 4 |
| company-by-company basis, to the general public.
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| (d) If after
a public hearing the Secretary
Director finds:
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| (1) that any rate, rating plan or rating system | 7 |
| violates the provisions
of this Section applicable to it, | 8 |
| he shall
may issue an order to the company which
has been | 9 |
| the subject of the hearing specifying in what respects such | 10 |
| violation
exists and , in that order, may adjust the rate
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| stating when, within a reasonable period of time, the | 12 |
| further
use of such rate or rating system by such company | 13 |
| in contracts of insurance
made thereafter shall be | 14 |
| prohibited ;
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| (2) that the violation of any of the provisions of this | 16 |
| Section applicable
to it by any company which has been the | 17 |
| subject of the hearing was wilful or that any company has | 18 |
| repeatedly violated any provision of this Section , he
may | 19 |
| take either or both of the following actions: | 20 |
| (A) Suspend
suspend or revoke, in whole or in part, | 21 |
| the certificate of authority
of such company with | 22 |
| respect to the class of insurance which has been the
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| subject of the hearing.
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| (B) Impose a penalty of up to $1,000 against the | 25 |
| company for each violation. Each day during which a | 26 |
| violation occurs constitutes a separate violation.
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| The burden is on the company to justify the rate or | 28 |
| proposed rate at the public hearing.
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| (e) Every company writing medical liability insurance in | 30 |
| this State shall offer to each of its medical liability | 31 |
| insureds the option to make premium payments in quarterly | 32 |
| installments as prescribed by and filed with the Secretary. | 33 |
| This offer shall be included in the initial offer or in the | 34 |
| first policy renewal occurring after the effective date of this | 35 |
| amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, but no earlier | 36 |
| than January 1, 2006.
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| (f) Every company writing medical liability insurance is | 2 |
| encouraged, but not required, to offer the opportunity for | 3 |
| participation in a plan offering deductibles to its medical | 4 |
| liability insureds. Any plan to offer deductibles shall be | 5 |
| filed with the Department. | 6 |
| (g) Every company writing medical liability insurance is | 7 |
| encouraged, but not required, to offer their medical liability | 8 |
| insureds a plan
providing premium discounts for participation | 9 |
| in risk
management activities. Any
such plan shall be reported | 10 |
| to the Department.
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| (h) A company writing medical liability insurance in | 12 |
| Illinois must give 180 days' notice before the company | 13 |
| discontinues the writing of medical liability insurance in | 14 |
| Illinois.
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| (Source: P.A. 79-1434.)
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| (215 ILCS 5/155.18a new) | 17 |
| Sec. 155.18a. Professional Liability Insurance Resource | 18 |
| Center. The Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation | 19 |
| shall establish a Professional Liability Insurance Resource | 20 |
| Center on the Department's Internet website containing the | 21 |
| name, telephone number, and base rates of each licensed company | 22 |
| providing medical liability insurance and the name, address, | 23 |
| and telephone number of each producer who sells medical | 24 |
| liability insurance and the name of each licensed company for | 25 |
| which the producer sells medical liability insurance. Each | 26 |
| company and producer shall submit the information to the | 27 |
| Department on or before September 30 of each year in order to | 28 |
| be listed on the website. Hyperlinks to company websites shall | 29 |
| be included, if available. The publication of the information | 30 |
| on the Department's website shall commence on January 1, 2006. | 31 |
| The Department shall update the information on the Professional | 32 |
| Liability Insurance Resource Center at least annually.
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| (215 ILCS 5/155.19) (from Ch. 73, par. 767.19)
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| Sec. 155.19. All claims filed after December 31, 1976 with |
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| any insurer
and all suits filed after December 31, 1976 in any | 2 |
| court in this State,
alleging liability on the part of any | 3 |
| physician, hospital or other health
care provider for medically | 4 |
| related injuries, shall be reported to the Secretary of | 5 |
| Financial and Professional Regulation
Director
of Insurance in | 6 |
| such form and under such terms and conditions as may be
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| prescribed by the Secretary
Director . In addition, and | 8 |
| notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any | 9 |
| insurer, stop loss insurer, captive insurer, risk retention | 10 |
| group, county risk retention trust, religious or charitable | 11 |
| risk pooling trust, surplus line insurer, or other entity | 12 |
| authorized or permitted by law to provide medical liability | 13 |
| insurance in this State shall report to the Secretary,
in such | 14 |
| form and under such terms and conditions as may be
prescribed | 15 |
| by the Secretary, all claims filed
after December 31, 2005 and | 16 |
| all suits filed
after December 31, 2005 in any court in this | 17 |
| State alleging liability on the part of any physician, | 18 |
| hospital, or health
care provider for medically related | 19 |
| injuries. Each clerk of the circuit court shall provide to the | 20 |
| Secretary such information as the Secretary may deem necessary | 21 |
| to verify the accuracy and completeness of reports made to the | 22 |
| Secretary under this Section. The Secretary
Director shall | 23 |
| maintain complete and accurate
records of all such claims and | 24 |
| suits including their nature, amount, disposition
(categorized | 25 |
| by verdict, settlement, dismissal, or otherwise and including | 26 |
| disposition of any post-trial motions and types of damages | 27 |
| awarded, if any, including but not limited to economic damages | 28 |
| and non-economic damages) and other information as he may deem | 29 |
| useful or desirable in observing and
reporting on health care | 30 |
| provider liability trends in this State. Records received by | 31 |
| the Secretary under this Section shall be available to the | 32 |
| general public; however, the records made available to the | 33 |
| general public shall not include the names or addresses of the | 34 |
| parties to any claims or suits. The Secretary
Director
shall | 35 |
| release to appropriate disciplinary and licensing agencies any | 36 |
| such
data or information which may assist such agencies in
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| improving the quality of health care or which may be useful to | 2 |
| such agencies
for the purpose of professional discipline.
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| With due regard for appropriate maintenance of the | 4 |
| confidentiality thereof,
the Secretary
Director
shall
may
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| release , on an annual basis,
from time to time to the Governor, | 6 |
| the General
Assembly and the general public statistical reports | 7 |
| based on such data and information.
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| If the Secretary finds that any entity required to report | 9 |
| information in its possession under this Section has violated | 10 |
| any provision of this Section by filing late, incomplete, or | 11 |
| inaccurate reports, the Secretary may fine the entity up to | 12 |
| $1,000 for each offense. Each day during which a violation | 13 |
| occurs constitutes a separate offense.
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| The Secretary
Director may promulgate such rules and | 15 |
| regulations as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of | 16 |
| this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 79-1434.)
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| (215 ILCS 5/1204) (from Ch. 73, par. 1065.904)
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| Sec. 1204. (A) The Secretary
Director shall promulgate | 20 |
| rules and regulations
which shall require each insurer licensed | 21 |
| to write property or casualty
insurance in the State and each | 22 |
| syndicate doing business on the Illinois
Insurance Exchange to | 23 |
| record and report its loss and expense experience
and other | 24 |
| data as may be necessary to assess the relationship of
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| insurance premiums and related income as compared to insurance | 26 |
| costs and
expenses. The Secretary
Director may designate one or | 27 |
| more rate service
organizations or advisory organizations to | 28 |
| gather and compile such
experience and data. The Secretary
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| Director shall require each insurer licensed to
write property | 30 |
| or casualty insurance in this State and each syndicate doing
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| business on the Illinois Insurance Exchange to submit a report, | 32 |
| on
a form furnished by the Secretary
Director , showing its | 33 |
| direct writings in this
State and companywide.
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| (B) Such report required by subsection (A) of this Section | 35 |
| may include,
but not be limited to, the following specific |
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| types of insurance written by
such insurer:
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| (1) Political subdivision liability insurance reported | 3 |
| separately in the
following categories:
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| (a) municipalities;
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| (b) school districts;
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| (c) other political subdivisions;
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| (2) Public official liability insurance;
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| (3) Dram shop liability insurance;
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| (4) Day care center liability insurance;
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| (5) Labor, fraternal or religious organizations | 11 |
| liability insurance;
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| (6) Errors and omissions liability insurance;
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| (7) Officers and directors liability insurance | 14 |
| reported separately as
follows:
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| (a) non-profit entities;
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| (b) for-profit entities;
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| (8) Products liability insurance;
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| (9) Medical malpractice insurance;
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| (10) Attorney malpractice insurance;
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| (11) Architects and engineers malpractice insurance; | 21 |
| and
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| (12) Motor vehicle insurance reported separately for | 23 |
| commercial and
private passenger vehicles as follows:
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| (a) motor vehicle physical damage insurance;
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| (b) motor vehicle liability insurance.
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| (C) Such report may include, but need not be limited to the | 27 |
| following data,
both
specific to this State and companywide, in | 28 |
| the aggregate or by type of
insurance for the previous year on | 29 |
| a calendar year basis:
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| (1) Direct premiums written;
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| (2) Direct premiums earned;
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| (3) Number of policies;
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| (4) Net investment income, using appropriate estimates | 34 |
| where necessary;
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| (5) Losses paid;
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| (6) Losses incurred;
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| (7) Loss reserves:
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| (a) Losses unpaid on reported claims;
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| (b) Losses unpaid on incurred but not reported | 4 |
| claims;
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| (8) Number of claims:
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| (a) Paid claims;
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| (b) Arising claims;
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| (9) Loss adjustment expenses:
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| (a) Allocated loss adjustment expenses;
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| (b) Unallocated loss adjustment expenses;
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| (10) Net underwriting gain or loss;
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| (11) Net operation gain or loss, including net | 13 |
| investment income;
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| (12) Any other information requested by the Secretary
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| Director .
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| (C-5) Additional information required from medical | 17 |
| malpractice insurers. | 18 |
| (1) In addition to the other requirements of this | 19 |
| Section, the following information shall be included in the | 20 |
| report required by subsection (A) of this Section in such | 21 |
| form and under such terms and conditions as may be | 22 |
| prescribed by the Secretary: | 23 |
| (a) paid and incurred losses by county for each of | 24 |
| the past 10 policy years; | 25 |
| (b) earned exposures by ISO code, policy type, and | 26 |
| policy year by county for each of the past 10 years; | 27 |
| and | 28 |
| (c) the following actuarial information: | 29 |
| (i) Base class and territory equivalent | 30 |
| exposures by report year by relative accident | 31 |
| year. | 32 |
| (ii) Cumulative loss array by accident year by | 33 |
| calendar year of development. This array will show | 34 |
| frequency of claims in the following categories: | 35 |
| open, closed with indemnity (CWI), closed with | 36 |
| expense (CWE), and closed no pay (CNP); paid |
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| severity in the following categories: indemnity | 2 |
| and allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) on | 3 |
| closed claims;
and indemnity and expense reserves | 4 |
| on pending claims. | 5 |
| (iii) Cumulative loss array by report year by | 6 |
| calendar year of development. This array will show | 7 |
| frequency of claims in the following categories: | 8 |
| open, closed with indemnity (CWI), closed with | 9 |
| expense (CWE), and closed no pay (CNP); paid | 10 |
| severity in the following categories: indemnity | 11 |
| and allocated loss adjustment expenses (ALAE) on | 12 |
| closed claims; and indemnity and expense reserves | 13 |
| on pending claims. | 14 |
| (iv) Maturity year and tail factors. | 15 |
| (v) Any expense, contingency ddr (death, | 16 |
| disability, and retirement), commission, tax, | 17 |
| and/or off-balance factors. | 18 |
| (2) The following information must also be annually | 19 |
| provided to the Department:
| 20 |
| (a) copies of the company's reserve and surplus | 21 |
| studies; and | 22 |
| (b) consulting actuarial report and data | 23 |
| supporting the company's rate
filing. | 24 |
| (3) All information collected by the Secretary under | 25 |
| paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be made available, on a | 26 |
| company-by-company basis, to the General Assembly and the | 27 |
| general public. This provision shall supersede any other | 28 |
| provision of State law that may otherwise protect such | 29 |
| information from public disclosure as confidential.
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| (D) In addition to the information which may be requested | 31 |
| under
subsection (C), the Secretary
Director may also request | 32 |
| on a companywide, aggregate
basis, Federal Income Tax | 33 |
| recoverable, net realized capital gain or loss,
net unrealized | 34 |
| capital gain or loss, and all other expenses not requested
in | 35 |
| subsection (C) above.
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| (E) Violations - Suspensions - Revocations.
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| (1) Any company or person
subject to this Article, who | 2 |
| willfully or repeatedly fails to observe or who
otherwise | 3 |
| violates any of the provisions of this Article or any rule | 4 |
| or
regulation promulgated by the Secretary
Director under | 5 |
| authority of this Article or any
final order of the | 6 |
| Secretary
Director entered under the authority of this | 7 |
| Article shall
by civil penalty forfeit to the State of | 8 |
| Illinois a sum not to exceed
$2,000. Each day during which | 9 |
| a violation occurs constitutes a
separate
offense.
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| (2) No forfeiture liability under paragraph (1) of this | 11 |
| subsection may
attach unless a written notice of apparent | 12 |
| liability has been issued by the
Secretary
Director and | 13 |
| received by the respondent, or the Secretary
Director sends | 14 |
| written
notice of apparent liability by registered or | 15 |
| certified mail, return
receipt requested, to the last known | 16 |
| address of the respondent. Any
respondent so notified must | 17 |
| be granted an opportunity to request a hearing
within 10 | 18 |
| days from receipt of notice, or to show in writing, why he | 19 |
| should
not be held liable. A notice issued under this | 20 |
| Section must set forth the
date, facts and nature of the | 21 |
| act or omission with which the respondent is
charged and | 22 |
| must specifically identify the particular provision of | 23 |
| this
Article, rule, regulation or order of which a | 24 |
| violation is charged.
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| (3) No forfeiture liability under paragraph (1) of this | 26 |
| subsection may
attach for any violation occurring more than | 27 |
| 2 years prior to the date of
issuance of the notice of | 28 |
| apparent liability and in no event may the total
civil | 29 |
| penalty forfeiture imposed for the acts or omissions set | 30 |
| forth in any
one notice of apparent liability exceed | 31 |
| $100,000.
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| (4) All administrative hearings conducted pursuant to | 33 |
| this Article are
subject to 50 Ill. Adm. Code 2402 and all | 34 |
| administrative hearings are
subject to the Administrative | 35 |
| Review Law.
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| (5) The civil penalty forfeitures provided for in this |
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| Section are
payable to the General Revenue Fund of the | 2 |
| State of Illinois, and may be
recovered in a civil suit in | 3 |
| the name of the State of Illinois brought in
the Circuit | 4 |
| Court in Sangamon County or in the Circuit Court of the | 5 |
| county
where the respondent is domiciled or has its | 6 |
| principal operating office.
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| (6) In any case where the Secretary
Director issues a | 8 |
| notice of apparent liability
looking toward the imposition | 9 |
| of a civil penalty forfeiture under this
Section that fact | 10 |
| may not be used in any other proceeding before the
| 11 |
| Secretary
Director to the prejudice of the respondent to | 12 |
| whom the notice was issued,
unless (a) the civil penalty | 13 |
| forfeiture has been paid, or (b) a court has
ordered | 14 |
| payment of the civil penalty forfeiture and that order has | 15 |
| become
final.
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| (7) When any person or company has a license or | 17 |
| certificate of authority
under this Code and knowingly | 18 |
| fails or refuses to comply with a lawful
order of the | 19 |
| Secretary
Director requiring compliance with this Article, | 20 |
| entered after
notice and hearing, within the period of time | 21 |
| specified in the order, the
Secretary
Director may, in | 22 |
| addition to any other penalty or authority
provided, revoke | 23 |
| or refuse to renew the license or certificate of authority
| 24 |
| of such person
or company, or may suspend the license or | 25 |
| certificate of authority
of such
person or company until | 26 |
| compliance with such order has been obtained.
| 27 |
| (8) When any person or company has a license or | 28 |
| certificate of authority
under this Code and knowingly | 29 |
| fails or refuses to comply with any
provisions of this | 30 |
| Article, the Secretary
Director may, after notice and | 31 |
| hearing, in
addition to any other penalty provided, revoke | 32 |
| or refuse to renew the
license or certificate of authority | 33 |
| of such person or company, or may
suspend the license or | 34 |
| certificate of authority of such person or company,
until | 35 |
| compliance with such provision of this Article has been | 36 |
| obtained.
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| (9) No suspension or revocation under this Section may | 2 |
| become effective
until 5 days from the date that the notice | 3 |
| of suspension or revocation has
been personally delivered | 4 |
| or delivered by registered or certified mail to
the company | 5 |
| or person. A suspension or revocation under this Section is
| 6 |
| stayed upon the filing, by the company or person, of a | 7 |
| petition for
judicial review under the Administrative | 8 |
| Review Law.
| 9 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-32, eff. 7-1-03.)
| 10 |
| Section 315. The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended by | 11 |
| changing Sections 7, 22, 23, 24, and 36 and adding Section 24.1 | 12 |
| as follows:
| 13 |
| (225 ILCS 60/7) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-7)
| 14 |
| (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007)
| 15 |
| Sec. 7. Medical Disciplinary Board.
| 16 |
| (A) There is hereby created the Illinois
State Medical | 17 |
| Disciplinary Board (hereinafter referred to as
the | 18 |
| "Disciplinary Board"). The Disciplinary Board shall
consist of | 19 |
| 11
9 members, to be appointed by the Governor by and
with the | 20 |
| advice and consent of the Senate. All members shall be
| 21 |
| residents of the State, not more than 6
5 of whom shall be
| 22 |
| members of the same political party. All members shall be | 23 |
| voting members. Five members shall be
physicians licensed to | 24 |
| practice medicine in all of its
branches in Illinois possessing | 25 |
| the degree of doctor of
medicine , and it shall be the goal that | 26 |
| at least one of the members practice in the field of | 27 |
| neurosurgery, one of the members practice in the field of | 28 |
| obstetrics and gynecology, and one of the members practice in | 29 |
| the field of cardiology . One member shall be a physician | 30 |
| licensed to practice in Illinois possessing the degree of | 31 |
| doctor of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine. One member shall | 32 |
| be a physician licensed to practice in Illinois and possessing | 33 |
| the degree of doctor of chiropractic. Four members
Two shall be | 34 |
| members of the public, who shall not
be engaged in any way, |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 15 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| directly or indirectly, as providers
of health care. The
2
| 2 |
| public members shall act as
voting members. One member shall be | 3 |
| a physician
licensed to practice in Illinois possessing the | 4 |
| degree of
doctor of osteopathy or osteopathic medicine. One | 5 |
| member shall be a
physician licensed to practice in Illinois | 6 |
| and possessing the degree
of doctor of chiropractic.
| 7 |
| (B) Members of the Disciplinary Board shall be appointed
| 8 |
| for terms of 4 years. Upon the expiration of the term of
any | 9 |
| member, their successor shall be appointed for a term of
4 | 10 |
| years by the Governor by and with the advice and
consent of the | 11 |
| Senate. The Governor shall fill any vacancy
for the remainder | 12 |
| of the unexpired term by and with the
advice and consent of the | 13 |
| Senate. Upon recommendation of
the Board, any member of the | 14 |
| Disciplinary Board may be
removed by the Governor for | 15 |
| misfeasance, malfeasance, or
wilful neglect of duty, after | 16 |
| notice, and a public hearing,
unless such notice and hearing | 17 |
| shall be expressly waived in
writing. Each member shall serve | 18 |
| on the Disciplinary Board
until their successor is appointed | 19 |
| and qualified. No member
of the Disciplinary Board shall serve | 20 |
| more than 2
consecutive 4 year terms.
| 21 |
| In making appointments the Governor shall attempt to
insure | 22 |
| that the various social and geographic regions of the
State of | 23 |
| Illinois are properly represented.
| 24 |
| In making the designation of persons to act for the
several | 25 |
| professions represented on the Disciplinary Board,
the | 26 |
| Governor shall give due consideration to recommendations
by | 27 |
| members of the respective professions and by
organizations | 28 |
| therein.
| 29 |
| (C) The Disciplinary Board shall annually elect one of
its | 30 |
| voting members as chairperson and one as vice
chairperson. No | 31 |
| officer shall be elected more than twice
in succession to the | 32 |
| same office. Each officer shall serve
until their successor has | 33 |
| been elected and qualified.
| 34 |
| (D) (Blank).
| 35 |
| (E) Six
Four voting members of the Disciplinary Board , at | 36 |
| least 4 of whom are physicians,
shall constitute a quorum. A |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 16 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| vacancy in the membership of
the Disciplinary Board shall not | 2 |
| impair the right of a
quorum to exercise all the rights and | 3 |
| perform all the duties
of the Disciplinary Board. Any action | 4 |
| taken by the
Disciplinary Board under this Act may be | 5 |
| authorized by
resolution at any regular or special meeting and | 6 |
| each such
resolution shall take effect immediately. The | 7 |
| Disciplinary
Board shall meet at least quarterly. The | 8 |
| Disciplinary Board
is empowered to adopt all rules and | 9 |
| regulations necessary
and incident to the powers granted to it | 10 |
| under this Act.
| 11 |
| (F) Each member, and member-officer, of the
Disciplinary | 12 |
| Board shall receive a per diem stipend
as the
Secretary
| 13 |
| Director of the Department, hereinafter referred to as the
| 14 |
| Secretary
Director , shall determine. The Secretary
Director
| 15 |
| shall also
determine the per diem stipend that each ex-officio | 16 |
| member
shall receive. Each member shall be paid their necessary
| 17 |
| expenses while engaged in the performance of their duties.
| 18 |
| (G) The Secretary
Director shall select a Chief Medical
| 19 |
| Coordinator and not less than 2
a Deputy Medical Coordinators
| 20 |
| Coordinator
who shall not
be members of the Disciplinary Board. | 21 |
| Each medical
coordinator shall be a physician licensed to | 22 |
| practice
medicine in all of its branches, and the Secretary
| 23 |
| Director shall set
their rates of compensation. The Secretary
| 24 |
| Director shall assign at least
one
medical
coordinator to
a | 25 |
| region composed of Cook County and
such other counties as the | 26 |
| Secretary
Director may deem appropriate,
and such medical | 27 |
| coordinator or coordinators shall locate their office in
| 28 |
| Chicago. The Secretary
Director shall assign at least one
the | 29 |
| remaining medical
coordinator to a region composed of the | 30 |
| balance of counties
in the State, and such medical coordinator | 31 |
| or coordinators shall locate
their office in Springfield. Each | 32 |
| medical coordinator shall
be the chief enforcement officer of | 33 |
| this Act in his or her
their
assigned region and shall serve at | 34 |
| the will of the
Disciplinary Board.
| 35 |
| The Secretary
Director shall employ, in conformity with the
| 36 |
| Personnel Code, not less than one full time investigator
for |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| every 2,500
5000 physicians licensed in the State. Each
| 2 |
| investigator shall be a college graduate with at least 2
years' | 3 |
| investigative experience or one year advanced medical
| 4 |
| education. Upon the written request of the Disciplinary
Board, | 5 |
| the Secretary
Director shall employ, in conformity with the
| 6 |
| Personnel Code, such other professional, technical,
| 7 |
| investigative, and clerical help, either on a full or
part-time | 8 |
| basis as the Disciplinary Board deems necessary
for the proper | 9 |
| performance of its duties.
| 10 |
| (H) Upon the specific request of the Disciplinary
Board, | 11 |
| signed by either the chairman, vice chairman, or a
medical | 12 |
| coordinator of the Disciplinary Board, the
Department of Human | 13 |
| Services or the
Department of State Police shall make available | 14 |
| any and all
information that they have in their possession | 15 |
| regarding a
particular case then under investigation by the | 16 |
| Disciplinary
Board.
| 17 |
| (I) Members of the Disciplinary Board shall be immune
from | 18 |
| suit in any action based upon any disciplinary
proceedings or | 19 |
| other acts performed in good faith as members
of the | 20 |
| Disciplinary Board.
| 21 |
| (J) The Disciplinary Board may compile and establish a
| 22 |
| statewide roster of physicians and other medical
| 23 |
| professionals, including the several medical specialties, of
| 24 |
| such physicians and medical professionals, who have agreed
to | 25 |
| serve from time to time as advisors to the medical
| 26 |
| coordinators. Such advisors shall assist the medical
| 27 |
| coordinators or the Disciplinary Board in their investigations | 28 |
| and participation in
complaints against physicians. Such | 29 |
| advisors shall serve
under contract and shall be reimbursed at | 30 |
| a reasonable rate for the services
provided, plus reasonable | 31 |
| expenses incurred.
While serving in this capacity, the advisor, | 32 |
| for any act
undertaken in good faith and in the conduct of | 33 |
| their duties
under this Section, shall be immune from civil | 34 |
| suit.
| 35 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-138, eff. 7-10-03.)
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 18 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| (225 ILCS 60/22) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-22)
| 2 |
| (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007)
| 3 |
| Sec. 22. Disciplinary action.
| 4 |
| (A) The Department may revoke, suspend, place on | 5 |
| probationary
status, refuse to renew, or take any other | 6 |
| disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper
with | 7 |
| regard to the license or visiting professor permit of any | 8 |
| person issued
under this Act to practice medicine, or to treat | 9 |
| human ailments without the use
of drugs and without operative | 10 |
| surgery upon any of the following grounds:
| 11 |
| (1) Performance of an elective abortion in any place, | 12 |
| locale,
facility, or
institution other than:
| 13 |
| (a) a facility licensed pursuant to the Ambulatory | 14 |
| Surgical Treatment
Center Act;
| 15 |
| (b) an institution licensed under the Hospital | 16 |
| Licensing Act; or
| 17 |
| (c) an ambulatory surgical treatment center or | 18 |
| hospitalization or care
facility maintained by the | 19 |
| State or any agency thereof, where such department
or | 20 |
| agency has authority under law to establish and enforce | 21 |
| standards for the
ambulatory surgical treatment | 22 |
| centers, hospitalization, or care facilities
under its | 23 |
| management and control; or
| 24 |
| (d) ambulatory surgical treatment centers, | 25 |
| hospitalization or care
facilities maintained by the | 26 |
| Federal Government; or
| 27 |
| (e) ambulatory surgical treatment centers, | 28 |
| hospitalization or care
facilities maintained by any | 29 |
| university or college established under the laws
of | 30 |
| this State and supported principally by public funds | 31 |
| raised by
taxation.
| 32 |
| (2) Performance of an abortion procedure in a wilful | 33 |
| and wanton
manner on a
woman who was not pregnant at the | 34 |
| time the abortion procedure was
performed.
| 35 |
| (3) The conviction of a felony in this or any other
| 36 |
| jurisdiction, except as
otherwise provided in subsection B |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 19 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| of this Section, whether or not related to
practice under | 2 |
| this Act, or the entry of a guilty or nolo contendere plea | 3 |
| to a
felony charge.
| 4 |
| (4) Gross negligence in practice under this Act.
| 5 |
| (5) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical or | 6 |
| unprofessional
conduct of a
character likely to deceive, | 7 |
| defraud or harm the public.
| 8 |
| (6) Obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit, or
| 9 |
| misrepresentation.
| 10 |
| (7) Habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs defined | 11 |
| in law
as
controlled substances, of alcohol, or of any | 12 |
| other substances which results in
the inability to practice | 13 |
| with reasonable judgment, skill or safety.
| 14 |
| (8) Practicing under a false or, except as provided by | 15 |
| law, an
assumed
name.
| 16 |
| (9) Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for, or | 17 |
| procuring, a
license
under this Act or in connection with | 18 |
| applying for renewal of a license under
this Act.
| 19 |
| (10) Making a false or misleading statement regarding | 20 |
| their
skill or the
efficacy or value of the medicine, | 21 |
| treatment, or remedy prescribed by them at
their direction | 22 |
| in the treatment of any disease or other condition of the | 23 |
| body
or mind.
| 24 |
| (11) Allowing another person or organization to use | 25 |
| their
license, procured
under this Act, to practice.
| 26 |
| (12) Disciplinary action of another state or | 27 |
| jurisdiction
against a license
or other authorization to | 28 |
| practice as a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy,
doctor | 29 |
| of osteopathic medicine or
doctor of chiropractic, a | 30 |
| certified copy of the record of the action taken by
the | 31 |
| other state or jurisdiction being prima facie evidence | 32 |
| thereof.
| 33 |
| (13) Violation of any provision of this Act or of the | 34 |
| Medical
Practice Act
prior to the repeal of that Act, or | 35 |
| violation of the rules, or a final
administrative action of | 36 |
| the Secretary
Director , after consideration of the
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| recommendation of the Disciplinary Board.
| 2 |
| (14) Dividing with anyone other than physicians with | 3 |
| whom the
licensee
practices in a partnership, Professional | 4 |
| Association, limited liability
company, or Medical or | 5 |
| Professional
Corporation any fee, commission, rebate or | 6 |
| other form of compensation for any
professional services | 7 |
| not actually and personally rendered. Nothing contained
in | 8 |
| this subsection prohibits persons holding valid and | 9 |
| current licenses under
this Act from practicing medicine in | 10 |
| partnership under a partnership
agreement, including a | 11 |
| limited liability partnership, in a limited liability
| 12 |
| company under the Limited Liability Company Act, in a | 13 |
| corporation authorized by
the Medical Corporation Act, as | 14 |
| an
association authorized by the Professional Association | 15 |
| Act, or in a
corporation under the
Professional Corporation | 16 |
| Act or from pooling, sharing, dividing or
apportioning the | 17 |
| fees and monies received by them or by the partnership,
| 18 |
| corporation or association in accordance with the | 19 |
| partnership agreement or the
policies of the Board of | 20 |
| Directors of the corporation or association. Nothing
| 21 |
| contained in this subsection prohibits 2 or more | 22 |
| corporations authorized by the
Medical Corporation Act, | 23 |
| from forming a partnership or joint venture of such
| 24 |
| corporations, and providing medical, surgical and | 25 |
| scientific research and
knowledge by employees of these | 26 |
| corporations if such employees are licensed
under this Act, | 27 |
| or from pooling, sharing, dividing, or apportioning the | 28 |
| fees
and monies received by the partnership or joint | 29 |
| venture in accordance with the
partnership or joint venture | 30 |
| agreement. Nothing contained in this subsection
shall | 31 |
| abrogate the right of 2 or more persons, holding valid and | 32 |
| current
licenses under this Act, to each receive adequate | 33 |
| compensation for concurrently
rendering professional | 34 |
| services to a patient and divide a fee; provided, the
| 35 |
| patient has full knowledge of the division, and, provided, | 36 |
| that the division is
made in proportion to the services |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 21 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| performed and responsibility assumed by
each.
| 2 |
| (15) A finding by the Medical Disciplinary Board that | 3 |
| the
registrant after
having his or her license placed on | 4 |
| probationary status or subjected to
conditions or | 5 |
| restrictions violated the terms of the probation or failed | 6 |
| to
comply with such terms or conditions.
| 7 |
| (16) Abandonment of a patient.
| 8 |
| (17) Prescribing, selling, administering, | 9 |
| distributing, giving
or
self-administering any drug | 10 |
| classified as a controlled substance (designated
product) | 11 |
| or narcotic for other than medically accepted therapeutic
| 12 |
| purposes.
| 13 |
| (18) Promotion of the sale of drugs, devices, | 14 |
| appliances or
goods provided
for a patient in such manner | 15 |
| as to exploit the patient for financial gain of
the | 16 |
| physician.
| 17 |
| (19) Offering, undertaking or agreeing to cure or treat
| 18 |
| disease by a secret
method, procedure, treatment or | 19 |
| medicine, or the treating, operating or
prescribing for any | 20 |
| human condition by a method, means or procedure which the
| 21 |
| licensee refuses to divulge upon demand of the Department.
| 22 |
| (20) Immoral conduct in the commission of any act | 23 |
| including,
but not limited to, commission of an act of | 24 |
| sexual misconduct related to the
licensee's
practice.
| 25 |
| (21) Wilfully making or filing false records or reports | 26 |
| in his
or her
practice as a physician, including, but not | 27 |
| limited to, false records to
support claims against the | 28 |
| medical assistance program of the Department of
Public Aid | 29 |
| under the Illinois Public Aid Code.
| 30 |
| (22) Wilful omission to file or record, or wilfully | 31 |
| impeding
the filing or
recording, or inducing another | 32 |
| person to omit to file or record, medical
reports as | 33 |
| required by law, or wilfully failing to report an instance | 34 |
| of
suspected abuse or neglect as required by law.
| 35 |
| (23) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated | 36 |
| report by
the Department
of Children and Family Services |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
- 22 - |
LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act, and | 2 |
| upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the | 3 |
| licensee has
caused a child to be an abused child or | 4 |
| neglected child as defined in the
Abused and Neglected | 5 |
| Child Reporting Act.
| 6 |
| (24) Solicitation of professional patronage by any
| 7 |
| corporation, agents or
persons, or profiting from those | 8 |
| representing themselves to be agents of the
licensee.
| 9 |
| (25) Gross and wilful and continued overcharging for
| 10 |
| professional services,
including filing false statements | 11 |
| for collection of fees for which services are
not rendered, | 12 |
| including, but not limited to, filing such false statements | 13 |
| for
collection of monies for services not rendered from the | 14 |
| medical assistance
program of the Department of Public Aid | 15 |
| under the Illinois Public Aid
Code.
| 16 |
| (26) A pattern of practice or other behavior which
| 17 |
| demonstrates
incapacity
or incompetence to practice under | 18 |
| this Act.
| 19 |
| (27) Mental illness or disability which results in the
| 20 |
| inability to
practice under this Act with reasonable | 21 |
| judgment, skill or safety.
| 22 |
| (28) Physical illness, including, but not limited to,
| 23 |
| deterioration through
the aging process, or loss of motor | 24 |
| skill which results in a physician's
inability to practice | 25 |
| under this Act with reasonable judgment, skill or
safety.
| 26 |
| (29) Cheating on or attempt to subvert the licensing
| 27 |
| examinations
administered under this Act.
| 28 |
| (30) Wilfully or negligently violating the | 29 |
| confidentiality
between
physician and patient except as | 30 |
| required by law.
| 31 |
| (31) The use of any false, fraudulent, or deceptive | 32 |
| statement
in any
document connected with practice under | 33 |
| this Act.
| 34 |
| (32) Aiding and abetting an individual not licensed | 35 |
| under this
Act in the
practice of a profession licensed | 36 |
| under this Act.
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| (33) Violating state or federal laws or regulations | 2 |
| relating
to controlled
substances , legend
drugs, or | 3 |
| ephedra, as defined in the Ephedra Prohibition Act .
| 4 |
| (34) Failure to report to the Department any adverse | 5 |
| final
action taken
against them by another licensing | 6 |
| jurisdiction (any other state or any
territory of the | 7 |
| United States or any foreign state or country), by any peer
| 8 |
| review body, by any health care institution, by any | 9 |
| professional society or
association related to practice | 10 |
| under this Act, by any governmental agency, by
any law | 11 |
| enforcement agency, or by any court for acts or conduct | 12 |
| similar to acts
or conduct which would constitute grounds | 13 |
| for action as defined in this
Section.
| 14 |
| (35) Failure to report to the Department surrender of a
| 15 |
| license or
authorization to practice as a medical doctor, a | 16 |
| doctor of osteopathy, a
doctor of osteopathic medicine, or | 17 |
| doctor
of chiropractic in another state or jurisdiction, or | 18 |
| surrender of membership on
any medical staff or in any | 19 |
| medical or professional association or society,
while | 20 |
| under disciplinary investigation by any of those | 21 |
| authorities or bodies,
for acts or conduct similar to acts | 22 |
| or conduct which would constitute grounds
for action as | 23 |
| defined in this Section.
| 24 |
| (36) Failure to report to the Department any adverse | 25 |
| judgment,
settlement,
or award arising from a liability | 26 |
| claim related to acts or conduct similar to
acts or conduct | 27 |
| which would constitute grounds for action as defined in | 28 |
| this
Section.
| 29 |
| (37) Failure to transfer copies of medical records as | 30 |
| required
by law.
| 31 |
| (38) Failure to furnish the Department, its | 32 |
| investigators or
representatives, relevant information, | 33 |
| legally requested by the Department
after consultation | 34 |
| with the Chief Medical Coordinator or the Deputy Medical
| 35 |
| Coordinator.
| 36 |
| (39) Violating the Health Care Worker Self-Referral
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| Act.
| 2 |
| (40) Willful failure to provide notice when notice is | 3 |
| required
under the
Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.
| 4 |
| (41) Failure to establish and maintain records of | 5 |
| patient care and
treatment as required by this law.
| 6 |
| (42) Entering into an excessive number of written | 7 |
| collaborative
agreements with licensed advanced practice | 8 |
| nurses resulting in an inability to
adequately collaborate | 9 |
| and provide medical direction.
| 10 |
| (43) Repeated failure to adequately collaborate with | 11 |
| or provide medical
direction to a licensed advanced | 12 |
| practice nurse.
| 13 |
| Except
for actions involving the ground numbered (26), all
| 14 |
| All proceedings to suspend,
revoke, place on probationary | 15 |
| status, or take any
other disciplinary action as the Department | 16 |
| may deem proper, with regard to a
license on any of the | 17 |
| foregoing grounds, must be commenced within 5
3 years next
| 18 |
| after receipt by the Department of a complaint alleging the | 19 |
| commission of or
notice of the conviction order for any of the | 20 |
| acts described herein. Except
for the grounds numbered (8), | 21 |
| (9) , (26), and (29), no action shall be commenced more
than 10
| 22 |
| 5 years after the date of the incident or act alleged to have | 23 |
| violated
this Section. For actions involving the ground | 24 |
| numbered (26), a pattern of practice or other behavior includes | 25 |
| all incidents alleged to be part of the pattern of practice or | 26 |
| other behavior that occurred or a report pursuant to Section 23 | 27 |
| of this Act received within the 10-year period preceding the | 28 |
| filing of the complaint. In the event of the settlement of any | 29 |
| claim or cause of action
in favor of the claimant or the | 30 |
| reduction to final judgment of any civil action
in favor of the | 31 |
| plaintiff, such claim, cause of action or civil action being
| 32 |
| grounded on the allegation that a person licensed under this | 33 |
| Act was negligent
in providing care, the Department shall have | 34 |
| an additional period of 2 years
one year
from the date of | 35 |
| notification to the Department under Section 23 of this Act
of | 36 |
| such settlement or final judgment in which to investigate and
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| commence formal disciplinary proceedings under Section 36 of | 2 |
| this Act, except
as otherwise provided by law. The time during | 3 |
| which the holder of the license
was outside the State of | 4 |
| Illinois shall not be included within any period of
time | 5 |
| limiting the commencement of disciplinary action by the | 6 |
| Department.
| 7 |
| The entry of an order or judgment by any circuit court | 8 |
| establishing that any
person holding a license under this Act | 9 |
| is a person in need of mental treatment
operates as a | 10 |
| suspension of that license. That person may resume their
| 11 |
| practice only upon the entry of a Departmental order based upon | 12 |
| a finding by
the Medical Disciplinary Board that they have been | 13 |
| determined to be recovered
from mental illness by the court and | 14 |
| upon the Disciplinary Board's
recommendation that they be | 15 |
| permitted to resume their practice.
| 16 |
| The Department may refuse to issue or take disciplinary | 17 |
| action concerning the license of any person
who fails to file a | 18 |
| return, or to pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a
filed | 19 |
| return, or to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or | 20 |
| interest, as
required by any tax Act administered by the | 21 |
| Illinois Department of Revenue,
until such time as the | 22 |
| requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied as
determined by | 23 |
| the Illinois Department of Revenue.
| 24 |
| The Department, upon the recommendation of the | 25 |
| Disciplinary Board, shall
adopt rules which set forth standards | 26 |
| to be used in determining:
| 27 |
| (a) when a person will be deemed sufficiently | 28 |
| rehabilitated to warrant the
public trust;
| 29 |
| (b) what constitutes dishonorable, unethical or | 30 |
| unprofessional conduct of
a character likely to deceive, | 31 |
| defraud, or harm the public;
| 32 |
| (c) what constitutes immoral conduct in the commission | 33 |
| of any act,
including, but not limited to, commission of an | 34 |
| act of sexual misconduct
related
to the licensee's | 35 |
| practice; and
| 36 |
| (d) what constitutes gross negligence in the practice |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| of medicine.
| 2 |
| However, no such rule shall be admissible into evidence in | 3 |
| any civil action
except for review of a licensing or other | 4 |
| disciplinary action under this Act.
| 5 |
| In enforcing this Section, the Medical Disciplinary Board,
| 6 |
| upon a showing of a possible violation, may compel any | 7 |
| individual licensed to
practice under this Act, or who has | 8 |
| applied for licensure or a permit
pursuant to this Act, to | 9 |
| submit to a mental or physical examination, or both,
as | 10 |
| required by and at the expense of the Department. The examining | 11 |
| physician
or physicians shall be those specifically designated | 12 |
| by the Disciplinary Board.
The Medical Disciplinary Board or | 13 |
| the Department may order the examining
physician to present | 14 |
| testimony concerning this mental or physical examination
of the | 15 |
| licensee or applicant. No information shall be excluded by | 16 |
| reason of
any common
law or statutory privilege relating to | 17 |
| communication between the licensee or
applicant and
the | 18 |
| examining physician.
The individual to be examined may have, at | 19 |
| his or her own expense, another
physician of his or her choice | 20 |
| present during all aspects of the examination.
Failure of any | 21 |
| individual to submit to mental or physical examination, when
| 22 |
| directed, shall be grounds for suspension of his or her license | 23 |
| until such time
as the individual submits to the examination if | 24 |
| the Disciplinary Board finds,
after notice and hearing, that | 25 |
| the refusal to submit to the examination was
without reasonable | 26 |
| cause. If the Disciplinary Board finds a physician unable
to | 27 |
| practice because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the | 28 |
| Disciplinary
Board shall require such physician to submit to | 29 |
| care, counseling, or treatment
by physicians approved or | 30 |
| designated by the Disciplinary Board, as a condition
for | 31 |
| continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice. Any | 32 |
| physician,
whose license was granted pursuant to Sections 9, | 33 |
| 17, or 19 of this Act, or,
continued, reinstated, renewed, | 34 |
| disciplined or supervised, subject to such
terms, conditions or | 35 |
| restrictions who shall fail to comply with such terms,
| 36 |
| conditions or restrictions, or to complete a required program |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| of care,
counseling, or treatment, as determined by the Chief | 2 |
| Medical Coordinator or
Deputy Medical Coordinators, shall be | 3 |
| referred to the Secretary
Director for a
determination as to | 4 |
| whether the licensee shall have their license suspended
| 5 |
| immediately, pending a hearing by the Disciplinary Board. In | 6 |
| instances in
which the Secretary
Director immediately suspends | 7 |
| a license under this Section, a hearing
upon such person's | 8 |
| license must be convened by the Disciplinary Board within 15
| 9 |
| days after such suspension and completed without appreciable | 10 |
| delay. The
Disciplinary Board shall have the authority to | 11 |
| review the subject physician's
record of treatment and | 12 |
| counseling regarding the impairment, to the extent
permitted by | 13 |
| applicable federal statutes and regulations safeguarding the
| 14 |
| confidentiality of medical records.
| 15 |
| An individual licensed under this Act, affected under this | 16 |
| Section, shall be
afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to the | 17 |
| Disciplinary Board that they can
resume practice in compliance | 18 |
| with acceptable and prevailing standards under
the provisions | 19 |
| of their license.
| 20 |
| The Department may promulgate rules for the imposition of | 21 |
| fines in
disciplinary cases, not to exceed
$10,000
$5,000 for | 22 |
| each violation of this Act. Fines
may be imposed in conjunction | 23 |
| with other forms of disciplinary action, but
shall not be the | 24 |
| exclusive disposition of any disciplinary action arising out
of | 25 |
| conduct resulting in death or injury to a patient. Any funds | 26 |
| collected from
such fines shall be deposited in the Medical | 27 |
| Disciplinary Fund.
| 28 |
| (B) The Department shall revoke the license or visiting
| 29 |
| permit of any person issued under this Act to practice medicine | 30 |
| or to treat
human ailments without the use of drugs and without | 31 |
| operative surgery, who
has been convicted a second time of | 32 |
| committing any felony under the
Illinois Controlled Substances | 33 |
| Act, or who has been convicted a second time of
committing a | 34 |
| Class 1 felony under Sections 8A-3 and 8A-6 of the Illinois | 35 |
| Public
Aid Code. A person whose license or visiting permit is | 36 |
| revoked
under
this subsection B of Section 22 of this Act shall |
|
|
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| be prohibited from practicing
medicine or treating human | 2 |
| ailments without the use of drugs and without
operative | 3 |
| surgery.
| 4 |
| (C) The Medical Disciplinary Board shall recommend to the
| 5 |
| Department civil
penalties and any other appropriate | 6 |
| discipline in disciplinary cases when the
Board finds that a | 7 |
| physician willfully performed an abortion with actual
| 8 |
| knowledge that the person upon whom the abortion has been | 9 |
| performed is a minor
or an incompetent person without notice as | 10 |
| required under the Parental Notice
of Abortion Act of 1995. | 11 |
| Upon the Board's recommendation, the Department shall
impose, | 12 |
| for the first violation, a civil penalty of $1,000 and for a | 13 |
| second or
subsequent violation, a civil penalty of $5,000.
| 14 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-18, eff. 6-1-95; 89-201, eff. 1-1-96; 89-626, | 15 |
| eff.
8-9-96; 89-702, eff. 7-1-97; 90-742, eff. 8-13-98.)
| 16 |
| (225 ILCS 60/23) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-23)
| 17 |
| (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007)
| 18 |
| Sec. 23. Reports relating to professional conduct
and | 19 |
| capacity.
| 20 |
| (A) Entities required to report.
| 21 |
| (1) Health care institutions. The chief administrator
| 22 |
| or executive officer of any health care institution | 23 |
| licensed
by the Illinois Department of Public Health shall | 24 |
| report to
the Disciplinary Board when any person's clinical | 25 |
| privileges
are terminated or are restricted based on a | 26 |
| final
determination, in accordance with that institution's | 27 |
| by-laws
or rules and regulations, that a person has either | 28 |
| committed
an act or acts which may directly threaten | 29 |
| patient care, and not of an
administrative nature, or that | 30 |
| a person may be mentally or
physically disabled in such a | 31 |
| manner as to endanger patients
under that person's care. | 32 |
| Such officer also shall report if
a person accepts | 33 |
| voluntary termination or restriction of
clinical | 34 |
| privileges in lieu of formal action based upon conduct | 35 |
| related
directly to patient care and
not of an |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| administrative nature, or in lieu of formal action
seeking | 2 |
| to determine whether a person may be mentally or
physically | 3 |
| disabled in such a manner as to endanger patients
under | 4 |
| that person's care. The Medical Disciplinary Board
shall, | 5 |
| by rule, provide for the reporting to it of all
instances | 6 |
| in which a person, licensed under this Act, who is
impaired | 7 |
| by reason of age, drug or alcohol abuse or physical
or | 8 |
| mental impairment, is under supervision and, where
| 9 |
| appropriate, is in a program of rehabilitation. Such
| 10 |
| reports shall be strictly confidential and may be reviewed
| 11 |
| and considered only by the members of the Disciplinary
| 12 |
| Board, or by authorized staff as provided by rules of the
| 13 |
| Disciplinary Board. Provisions shall be made for the
| 14 |
| periodic report of the status of any such person not less
| 15 |
| than twice annually in order that the Disciplinary Board
| 16 |
| shall have current information upon which to determine the
| 17 |
| status of any such person. Such initial and periodic
| 18 |
| reports of impaired physicians shall not be considered
| 19 |
| records within the meaning of The State Records Act and
| 20 |
| shall be disposed of, following a determination by the
| 21 |
| Disciplinary Board that such reports are no longer | 22 |
| required,
in a manner and at such time as the Disciplinary | 23 |
| Board shall
determine by rule. The filing of such reports | 24 |
| shall be
construed as the filing of a report for purposes | 25 |
| of
subsection (C) of this Section.
| 26 |
| (2) Professional associations. The President or chief
| 27 |
| executive officer of any association or society, of persons
| 28 |
| licensed under this Act, operating within this State shall
| 29 |
| report to the Disciplinary Board when the association or
| 30 |
| society renders a final determination that a person has
| 31 |
| committed unprofessional conduct related directly to | 32 |
| patient
care or that a person may be mentally or physically | 33 |
| disabled
in such a manner as to endanger patients under | 34 |
| that person's
care.
| 35 |
| (3) Professional liability insurers. Every insurance
| 36 |
| company which offers policies of professional liability
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| insurance to persons licensed under this Act, or any other
| 2 |
| entity which seeks to indemnify the professional liability
| 3 |
| of a person licensed under this Act, shall report to the
| 4 |
| Disciplinary Board the settlement of any claim or cause of
| 5 |
| action, or final judgment rendered in any cause of action,
| 6 |
| which alleged negligence in the furnishing of medical care
| 7 |
| by such licensed person when such settlement or final
| 8 |
| judgment is in favor of the plaintiff.
| 9 |
| (4) State's Attorneys. The State's Attorney of each
| 10 |
| county shall report to the Disciplinary Board all instances
| 11 |
| in which a person licensed under this Act is convicted or
| 12 |
| otherwise found guilty of the commission of any felony. The | 13 |
| State's Attorney
of each county may report to the | 14 |
| Disciplinary Board through a verified
complaint any | 15 |
| instance in which the State's Attorney believes that a | 16 |
| physician
has willfully violated the notice requirements | 17 |
| of the Parental Notice of
Abortion Act of 1995.
| 18 |
| (5) State agencies. All agencies, boards,
commissions, | 19 |
| departments, or other instrumentalities of the
government | 20 |
| of the State of Illinois shall report to the
Disciplinary | 21 |
| Board any instance arising in connection with
the | 22 |
| operations of such agency, including the administration
of | 23 |
| any law by such agency, in which a person licensed under
| 24 |
| this Act has either committed an act or acts which may be a
| 25 |
| violation of this Act or which may constitute | 26 |
| unprofessional
conduct related directly to patient care or | 27 |
| which indicates
that a person licensed under this Act may | 28 |
| be mentally or
physically disabled in such a manner as to | 29 |
| endanger patients
under that person's care.
| 30 |
| (B) Mandatory reporting. All reports required by items | 31 |
| (34), (35), and
(36) of subsection (A) of Section 22 and by | 32 |
| Section 23 shall be submitted to the Disciplinary Board in a | 33 |
| timely
fashion. The reports shall be filed in writing within 60
| 34 |
| days after a determination that a report is required under
this | 35 |
| Act. All reports shall contain the following
information:
| 36 |
| (1) The name, address and telephone number of the
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| person making the report.
| 2 |
| (2) The name, address and telephone number of the
| 3 |
| person who is the subject of the report.
| 4 |
| (3) The name and date of birth
or other means of | 5 |
| identification of any
patient or patients whose treatment | 6 |
| is a subject of the
report, if available, or other means of | 7 |
| identification if such information is not available, | 8 |
| identification of the hospital or other
healthcare | 9 |
| facility where the care at issue in the report was | 10 |
| rendered,
provided, however, no medical records may be
| 11 |
| revealed without the written consent of the patient or
| 12 |
| patients .
| 13 |
| (4) A brief description of the facts which gave rise
to | 14 |
| the issuance of the report, including the dates of any
| 15 |
| occurrences deemed to necessitate the filing of the report.
| 16 |
| (5) If court action is involved, the identity of the
| 17 |
| court in which the action is filed, along with the docket
| 18 |
| number and date of filing of the action.
| 19 |
| (6) Any further pertinent information which the
| 20 |
| reporting party deems to be an aid in the evaluation of the
| 21 |
| report.
| 22 |
| The Department shall have the right to inform patients of | 23 |
| the right to
provide written consent for the Department to | 24 |
| obtain copies of hospital and
medical records.
The Disciplinary | 25 |
| Board or Department may also exercise the power under Section
| 26 |
| 38 of this Act to subpoena copies of hospital or medical | 27 |
| records in mandatory
report cases alleging death or permanent | 28 |
| bodily injury when consent to obtain
records is not provided by | 29 |
| a patient or legal representative . Appropriate
rules shall be | 30 |
| adopted by the Department with the approval of the Disciplinary
| 31 |
| Board.
| 32 |
| When the Department has received written reports | 33 |
| concerning incidents
required to be reported in items (34), | 34 |
| (35), and (36) of subsection (A) of
Section 22, the licensee's | 35 |
| failure to report the incident to the Department
under those | 36 |
| items shall not be the sole grounds for disciplinary action.
|
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| Nothing contained in this Section shall act to in any
way, | 2 |
| waive or modify the confidentiality of medical reports
and | 3 |
| committee reports to the extent provided by law. Any
| 4 |
| information reported or disclosed shall be kept for the
| 5 |
| confidential use of the Disciplinary Board, the Medical
| 6 |
| Coordinators, the Disciplinary Board's attorneys, the
medical | 7 |
| investigative staff, and authorized clerical staff,
as | 8 |
| provided in this Act, and shall be afforded the same
status as | 9 |
| is provided information concerning medical studies
in Part 21 | 10 |
| of Article VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure , except that the | 11 |
| Department may disclose information and documents to a federal, | 12 |
| State, or local law enforcement agency pursuant to a subpoena | 13 |
| in an ongoing criminal investigation. Furthermore, information | 14 |
| and documents disclosed to a federal, State, or local law | 15 |
| enforcement agency may be used by that agency only for the | 16 |
| investigation and prosecution of a criminal offense .
| 17 |
| (C) Immunity from prosecution. Any individual or
| 18 |
| organization acting in good faith, and not in a wilful and
| 19 |
| wanton manner, in complying with this Act by providing any
| 20 |
| report or other information to the Disciplinary Board or a peer | 21 |
| review committee , or
assisting in the investigation or | 22 |
| preparation of such
information, or by voluntarily reporting to | 23 |
| the Disciplinary Board
or a peer review committee information | 24 |
| regarding alleged errors or negligence by a person licensed | 25 |
| under this Act, or by participating in proceedings of the
| 26 |
| Disciplinary Board or a peer review committee , or by serving as | 27 |
| a member of the
Disciplinary Board or a peer review committee , | 28 |
| shall not, as a result of such actions,
be subject to criminal | 29 |
| prosecution or civil damages.
| 30 |
| (D) Indemnification. Members of the Disciplinary
Board, | 31 |
| the Medical Coordinators, the Disciplinary Board's
attorneys, | 32 |
| the medical investigative staff, physicians
retained under | 33 |
| contract to assist and advise the medical
coordinators in the | 34 |
| investigation, and authorized clerical
staff shall be | 35 |
| indemnified by the State for any actions
occurring within the | 36 |
| scope of services on the Disciplinary
Board, done in good faith |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| and not wilful and wanton in
nature. The Attorney General shall | 2 |
| defend all such actions
unless he or she determines either that | 3 |
| there would be a
conflict of interest in such representation or | 4 |
| that the
actions complained of were not in good faith or were | 5 |
| wilful
and wanton.
| 6 |
| Should the Attorney General decline representation, the
| 7 |
| member shall have the right to employ counsel of his or her
| 8 |
| choice, whose fees shall be provided by the State, after
| 9 |
| approval by the Attorney General, unless there is a
| 10 |
| determination by a court that the member's actions were not
in | 11 |
| good faith or were wilful and wanton.
| 12 |
| The member must notify the Attorney General within 7
days | 13 |
| of receipt of notice of the initiation of any action
involving | 14 |
| services of the Disciplinary Board. Failure to so
notify the | 15 |
| Attorney General shall constitute an absolute
waiver of the | 16 |
| right to a defense and indemnification.
| 17 |
| The Attorney General shall determine within 7 days
after | 18 |
| receiving such notice, whether he or she will
undertake to | 19 |
| represent the member.
| 20 |
| (E) Deliberations of Disciplinary Board. Upon the
receipt | 21 |
| of any report called for by this Act, other than
those reports | 22 |
| of impaired persons licensed under this Act
required pursuant | 23 |
| to the rules of the Disciplinary Board,
the Disciplinary Board | 24 |
| shall notify in writing, by certified
mail, the person who is | 25 |
| the subject of the report. Such
notification shall be made | 26 |
| within 30 days of receipt by the
Disciplinary Board of the | 27 |
| report.
| 28 |
| The notification shall include a written notice setting
| 29 |
| forth the person's right to examine the report. Included in
| 30 |
| such notification shall be the address at which the file is
| 31 |
| maintained, the name of the custodian of the reports, and
the | 32 |
| telephone number at which the custodian may be reached.
The | 33 |
| person who is the subject of the report shall submit a written | 34 |
| statement responding,
clarifying, adding to, or proposing the | 35 |
| amending of the
report previously filed. The person who is the | 36 |
| subject of the report shall also submit with the written |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| statement any medical records related to the report. The | 2 |
| statement and accompanying medical records shall become a
| 3 |
| permanent part of the file and must be received by the
| 4 |
| Disciplinary Board no more than
30
60 days after the date on
| 5 |
| which the person was notified by the Disciplinary Board of the | 6 |
| existence of
the
original report.
| 7 |
| The Disciplinary Board shall review all reports
received by | 8 |
| it, together with any supporting information and
responding | 9 |
| statements submitted by persons who are the
subject of reports. | 10 |
| The review by the Disciplinary Board
shall be in a timely | 11 |
| manner but in no event, shall the
Disciplinary Board's initial | 12 |
| review of the material
contained in each disciplinary file be | 13 |
| less than 61 days nor
more than 180 days after the receipt of | 14 |
| the initial report
by the Disciplinary Board.
| 15 |
| When the Disciplinary Board makes its initial review of
the | 16 |
| materials contained within its disciplinary files, the
| 17 |
| Disciplinary Board shall, in writing, make a determination
as | 18 |
| to whether there are sufficient facts to warrant further
| 19 |
| investigation or action. Failure to make such determination
| 20 |
| within the time provided shall be deemed to be a
determination | 21 |
| that there are not sufficient facts to warrant
further | 22 |
| investigation or action.
| 23 |
| Should the Disciplinary Board find that there are not
| 24 |
| sufficient facts to warrant further investigation, or
action, | 25 |
| the report shall be accepted for filing and the
matter shall be | 26 |
| deemed closed and so reported to the Secretary
Director . The | 27 |
| Secretary
Director
shall then have 30 days to accept the | 28 |
| Medical Disciplinary Board's decision or
request further | 29 |
| investigation. The Secretary
Director shall inform the Board in | 30 |
| writing
of the decision to request further investigation, | 31 |
| including the specific
reasons for the decision. The
individual | 32 |
| or entity filing the original report or complaint
and the | 33 |
| person who is the subject of the report or complaint
shall be | 34 |
| notified in writing by the Secretary
Director of
any final | 35 |
| action on their report or complaint.
| 36 |
| (F) Summary reports. The Disciplinary Board shall
prepare, |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| on a timely basis, but in no event less than one
every other | 2 |
| month, a summary report of final actions taken
upon | 3 |
| disciplinary files maintained by the Disciplinary Board.
The | 4 |
| summary reports shall be sent by the Disciplinary Board
to | 5 |
| every health care facility licensed by the Illinois
Department | 6 |
| of Public Health, every professional association
and society of | 7 |
| persons licensed under this Act functioning
on a statewide | 8 |
| basis in this State, the American Medical
Association, the | 9 |
| American Osteopathic Association, the
American Chiropractic | 10 |
| Association, all insurers providing
professional liability | 11 |
| insurance to persons licensed under
this Act in the State of | 12 |
| Illinois, the Federation of State
Medical Licensing Boards, and | 13 |
| the Illinois Pharmacists
Association.
| 14 |
| (G) Any violation of this Section shall be a Class A
| 15 |
| misdemeanor.
| 16 |
| (H) If any such person violates the provisions of this
| 17 |
| Section an action may be brought in the name of the People
of | 18 |
| the State of Illinois, through the Attorney General of
the | 19 |
| State of Illinois, for an order enjoining such violation
or for | 20 |
| an order enforcing compliance with this Section.
Upon filing of | 21 |
| a verified petition in such court, the court
may issue a | 22 |
| temporary restraining order without notice or
bond and may | 23 |
| preliminarily or permanently enjoin such
violation, and if it | 24 |
| is established that such person has
violated or is violating | 25 |
| the injunction, the court may
punish the offender for contempt | 26 |
| of court. Proceedings
under this paragraph shall be in addition | 27 |
| to, and not in
lieu of, all other remedies and penalties | 28 |
| provided for by
this Section.
| 29 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-18, eff. 6-1-95; 89-702, eff. 7-1-97; 90-699, | 30 |
| eff.
1-1-99.)
| 31 |
| (225 ILCS 60/24) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-24)
| 32 |
| (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007)
| 33 |
| Sec. 24. Report of violations; medical associations. Any | 34 |
| physician
licensed under this Act, the
Illinois State Medical | 35 |
| Society, the Illinois Association of
Osteopathic Physicians |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| and Surgeons, the Illinois
Chiropractic Society, the Illinois | 2 |
| Prairie State Chiropractic Association,
or any component | 3 |
| societies of any of
these 4 groups, and any other person, may | 4 |
| report to the
Disciplinary Board any information the physician,
| 5 |
| association, society, or person may have that appears to
show | 6 |
| that a physician is or may be in violation of any of
the | 7 |
| provisions of Section 22 of this Act.
| 8 |
| The Department may enter into agreements with the
Illinois | 9 |
| State Medical Society, the Illinois Association of
Osteopathic | 10 |
| Physicians and Surgeons, the Illinois Prairie State | 11 |
| Chiropractic
Association, or the Illinois
Chiropractic Society | 12 |
| to allow these
organizations to assist the Disciplinary Board | 13 |
| in the review
of alleged violations of this Act. Subject to the | 14 |
| approval
of the Department, any organization party to such an
| 15 |
| agreement may subcontract with other individuals or
| 16 |
| organizations to assist in review.
| 17 |
| Any physician, association, society, or person
| 18 |
| participating in good faith in the making of a report , under
| 19 |
| this Act or participating in or assisting with an
investigation | 20 |
| or review under this Act
Section shall have
immunity from any | 21 |
| civil, criminal, or other liability that might result by reason | 22 |
| of those actions.
| 23 |
| The medical information in the custody of an entity
under | 24 |
| contract with the Department participating in an
investigation | 25 |
| or review shall be privileged and confidential
to the same | 26 |
| extent as are information and reports under the
provisions of | 27 |
| Part 21 of Article VIII of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
| 28 |
| Upon request by the Department after a mandatory report has | 29 |
| been filed with the Department, an attorney for any party | 30 |
| seeking to recover damages for
injuries or death by reason of | 31 |
| medical, hospital, or other healing art
malpractice shall | 32 |
| provide patient records related to the physician involved in | 33 |
| the disciplinary proceeding to the Department within 30 days of | 34 |
| the Department's request for use by the Department in any | 35 |
| disciplinary matter under this Act. An attorney who provides | 36 |
| patient records to the Department in accordance with this |
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| requirement shall not be deemed to have violated any | 2 |
| attorney-client privilege. Notwithstanding any other provision | 3 |
| of law, consent by a patient shall not be required for the | 4 |
| provision of patient records in accordance with this | 5 |
| requirement.
| 6 |
| For the purpose of any civil or criminal proceedings,
the | 7 |
| good faith of any physician, association, society
or person | 8 |
| shall be presumed. The Disciplinary Board may
request the | 9 |
| Illinois State Medical Society, the Illinois
Association of | 10 |
| Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, the Illinois Prairie
| 11 |
| State Chiropractic Association, or the
Illinois Chiropractic | 12 |
| Society to assist the Disciplinary
Board in preparing for or | 13 |
| conducting any medical competency
examination as the Board may | 14 |
| deem appropriate.
| 15 |
| (Source: P.A. 88-324.)
| 16 |
| (225 ILCS 60/24.1 new) | 17 |
| Sec. 24.1. Physician profile. | 18 |
| (a) This Section may be cited as the Patients' Right to | 19 |
| Know Law.
| 20 |
| (b) The Department shall make available to the public a | 21 |
| profile of each physician. The Department shall make this | 22 |
| information available through an Internet web site and, if | 23 |
| requested, in writing. The physician profile shall contain the | 24 |
| following information: | 25 |
| (1) the full name of the physician;
| 26 |
| (2) a description of any criminal convictions for | 27 |
| felonies and Class A misdemeanors, as determined by the | 28 |
| Department, within the most recent 5 years. For the | 29 |
| purposes of this Section, a person shall be deemed to be | 30 |
| convicted of a crime if he or she pleaded guilty or if he | 31 |
| was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent | 32 |
| jurisdiction;
| 33 |
| (3) a description of any final Department disciplinary | 34 |
| actions within the most recent 5 years;
| 35 |
| (4) a description of any final disciplinary actions by |
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| licensing boards in other states within the most recent 5 | 2 |
| years;
| 3 |
| (5) a description of revocation or involuntary | 4 |
| restriction of hospital privileges for reasons related to | 5 |
| competence or character that have been taken by the | 6 |
| hospital's governing body or any other official of the | 7 |
| hospital after procedural due process has been afforded, or | 8 |
| the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff | 9 |
| membership or the restriction of privileges at a hospital | 10 |
| taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending disciplinary | 11 |
| case related to competence or character in that hospital. | 12 |
| Only cases which have occurred within the most recent 5 | 13 |
| years shall be disclosed by the Department to the public;
| 14 |
| (6) all medical malpractice court judgments and all | 15 |
| medical malpractice arbitration awards in which a payment | 16 |
| was awarded to a complaining party during the most recent 5 | 17 |
| years and all settlements of medical malpractice claims in | 18 |
| which a payment was made to a complaining party within the | 19 |
| most recent 5 years. A medical malpractice judgment or | 20 |
| award that has been appealed shall be identified | 21 |
| prominently as "Under Appeal" on the profile within 20 days | 22 |
| of formal written notice to the Department. Information | 23 |
| concerning all settlements shall be accompanied by the | 24 |
| following statement: "Settlement of a claim may occur for a | 25 |
| variety of reasons which do not necessarily reflect | 26 |
| negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the | 27 |
| physician. A payment in settlement of a medical malpractice | 28 |
| action or claim should not be construed as creating a | 29 |
| presumption that medical malpractice has occurred." | 30 |
| Nothing in this subdivision (6) shall be construed to limit | 31 |
| or prevent the Disciplinary Board from providing further | 32 |
| explanatory information regarding the significance of | 33 |
| categories in which settlements are reported. Pending | 34 |
| malpractice claims shall not be disclosed by the Department | 35 |
| to the public. Nothing in this subdivision (6) shall be | 36 |
| construed to prevent the Disciplinary Board from |
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| investigating and the Department from disciplining a | 2 |
| physician on the basis of medical malpractice claims that | 3 |
| are pending;
| 4 |
| (7) names of medical schools attended, dates of | 5 |
| attendance, and date of graduation;
| 6 |
| (8) graduate medical education;
| 7 |
| (9) specialty board certification. The toll-free | 8 |
| number of the American Board of Medical Specialties shall | 9 |
| be included to verify current board certification status;
| 10 |
| (10) number of years in practice and locations;
| 11 |
| (11) names of the hospitals where the physician has | 12 |
| privileges;
| 13 |
| (12) appointments to medical school faculties and | 14 |
| indication as to whether a physician has a responsibility | 15 |
| for graduate medical education within the most recent 5 | 16 |
| years;
| 17 |
| (13) information regarding publications in | 18 |
| peer-reviewed medical literature within the most recent 5 | 19 |
| years;
| 20 |
| (14) information regarding professional or community | 21 |
| service activities and awards;
| 22 |
| (15) the location of the physician's primary practice | 23 |
| setting;
| 24 |
| (16) identification of any translating services that | 25 |
| may be available at the physician's primary practice | 26 |
| location;
| 27 |
| (17) an indication of whether the physician | 28 |
| participates in the Medicaid program.
| 29 |
| (c) The Disciplinary Board shall provide individual | 30 |
| physicians with a copy of their profiles prior to release to | 31 |
| the public. A physician shall be provided 60 days to correct | 32 |
| factual inaccuracies that appear in such profile.
| 33 |
| (d) A physician may elect to have his or her profile omit | 34 |
| certain information provided pursuant to subdivisions (12) | 35 |
| through (14) of subsection (b) concerning academic | 36 |
| appointments and teaching responsibilities, publication in |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| peer-reviewed journals and professional and community service | 2 |
| awards. In collecting information for such profiles and in | 3 |
| disseminating the same, the Disciplinary Board shall inform | 4 |
| physicians that they may choose not to provide such information | 5 |
| required pursuant to subdivisions (12) through (14) of | 6 |
| subsection (b).
| 7 |
| (e) The Department shall promulgate such rules as it deems | 8 |
| necessary to accomplish the requirements of this Section.
| 9 |
| (225 ILCS 60/36) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-36)
| 10 |
| (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007)
| 11 |
| Sec. 36. Upon the motion of either the Department
or the | 12 |
| Disciplinary Board or upon the verified complaint in
writing of | 13 |
| any person setting forth facts which, if proven,
would | 14 |
| constitute grounds for suspension or revocation under
Section | 15 |
| 22 of this Act, the Department shall investigate the
actions of | 16 |
| any person, so accused, who holds or represents
that they hold | 17 |
| a license. Such person is hereinafter called
the accused.
| 18 |
| The Department shall, before suspending, revoking,
placing | 19 |
| on probationary status, or taking any other
disciplinary action | 20 |
| as the Department may deem proper with
regard to any license at | 21 |
| least 30 days prior to the date set
for the hearing, notify the | 22 |
| accused in writing of any
charges made and the time and place | 23 |
| for a hearing of the
charges before the Disciplinary Board, | 24 |
| direct them to file
their written answer thereto to the | 25 |
| Disciplinary Board under
oath within 20 days after the service | 26 |
| on them of such notice
and inform them that if they fail to | 27 |
| file such answer
default will be taken against them and their | 28 |
| license may be
suspended, revoked, placed on probationary | 29 |
| status, or have
other disciplinary action, including limiting | 30 |
| the scope,
nature or extent of their practice, as the | 31 |
| Department may
deem proper taken with regard thereto.
| 32 |
| Where a physician has been found, upon complaint and
| 33 |
| investigation of the Department, and after hearing, to have
| 34 |
| performed an abortion procedure in a wilful and wanton
manner | 35 |
| upon a woman who was not pregnant at the time such
abortion |
|
|
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| procedure was performed, the Department shall
automatically | 2 |
| revoke the license of such physician to
practice medicine in | 3 |
| Illinois.
| 4 |
| Such written notice and any notice in such proceedings
| 5 |
| thereafter may be served by delivery of the same,
personally, | 6 |
| to the accused person, or by mailing the same by
registered or | 7 |
| certified mail to the address last theretofore
specified by the | 8 |
| accused in their last notification to the
Department.
| 9 |
| All information gathered by the Department during its | 10 |
| investigation
including information subpoenaed
under Section | 11 |
| 23 or 38 of this Act and the investigative file shall be kept | 12 |
| for
the confidential use of the Secretary
Director , | 13 |
| Disciplinary Board, the Medical
Coordinators, persons employed | 14 |
| by contract to advise the Medical Coordinator or
the | 15 |
| Department, the
Disciplinary Board's attorneys, the medical | 16 |
| investigative staff, and authorized
clerical staff, as | 17 |
| provided in this Act and shall be afforded the same status
as | 18 |
| is provided information concerning medical studies in Part 21 | 19 |
| of Article
VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure , except that the | 20 |
| Department may disclose information and documents to a federal, | 21 |
| State, or local law enforcement agency pursuant to a subpoena | 22 |
| in an ongoing criminal investigation. Furthermore, information | 23 |
| and documents disclosed to a federal, State, or local law | 24 |
| enforcement agency may be used by that agency only for the | 25 |
| investigation and prosecution of a criminal offense .
| 26 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-699, eff. 1-1-99.)
| 27 |
| Section 320. The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by adding | 28 |
| Section 27.10 as follows: | 29 |
| (705 ILCS 105/27.10 new)
| 30 |
| Sec. 27.10. Secretary of Financial and Professional | 31 |
| Regulation. Each clerk of the circuit court shall provide to | 32 |
| the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation such | 33 |
| information as the Secretary of Financial and Professional | 34 |
| Regulation requests under Section 155.19 of the Illinois |
|
|
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| Insurance Code.
| 2 |
| Section 330. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by | 3 |
| reenacting and changing Sections 2-622 and 8-2501, by changing | 4 |
| Section 8-1901, and by adding Sections 2-1704.5 and 2-1706.5 as | 5 |
| follows:
| 6 |
| (735 ILCS 5/2-622) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-622)
| 7 |
| (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7, | 8 |
| which has been held
unconstitutional)
| 9 |
| Sec. 2-622. Healing art malpractice.
| 10 |
| (a) In any action, whether in
tort, contract or otherwise, | 11 |
| in which the plaintiff seeks damages for
injuries or death by | 12 |
| reason of medical, hospital, or other healing art
malpractice, | 13 |
| the plaintiff's attorney or the plaintiff, if the plaintiff is
| 14 |
| proceeding pro se, shall file an affidavit, attached to the | 15 |
| original and
all copies of the complaint, declaring one of the | 16 |
| following:
| 17 |
| 1. That the affiant has consulted and reviewed the | 18 |
| facts of the case
with a health professional who the | 19 |
| affiant reasonably believes: (i) is
knowledgeable in the | 20 |
| relevant issues involved in the particular action;
(ii) | 21 |
| practices or has practiced within the last 5
6 years or | 22 |
| teaches or
has taught within the last 5
6 years in the same | 23 |
| area of health care or
medicine that is at issue in the | 24 |
| particular action; and (iii) meets the expert witness | 25 |
| standards set forth in paragraphs (a) through (d) of | 26 |
| Section 8-2501;
is qualified
by experience or demonstrated | 27 |
| competence in the subject of the case; that
the reviewing | 28 |
| health professional has determined in a
written report, | 29 |
| after a review of the medical record and other relevant
| 30 |
| material involved in the particular action that there is a | 31 |
| reasonable and
meritorious cause for the filing of such | 32 |
| action; and that the affiant has
concluded on the basis of | 33 |
| the reviewing health professional's review and
| 34 |
| consultation that there is a reasonable and meritorious |
|
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| cause for filing of
such action. A single written report | 2 |
| must be filed to cover each defendant in the action. As to | 3 |
| defendants who are individuals, the
If the affidavit is | 4 |
| filed as to a defendant who is a physician
licensed to | 5 |
| treat human ailments without the use of drugs or medicines | 6 |
| and
without operative surgery, a dentist, a podiatrist, a | 7 |
| psychologist, or a
naprapath,
The written report must be | 8 |
| from a health professional
licensed in the same profession, | 9 |
| with the same class of license, as the
defendant. For | 10 |
| written reports
affidavits filed as to all other | 11 |
| defendants, who are not individuals, the written
report | 12 |
| must be from a physician licensed to practice medicine in | 13 |
| all its
branches who is qualified by experience with the | 14 |
| standard of care, methods, procedures and treatments | 15 |
| relevant to the allegations at issue in the case . In either | 16 |
| event, the written report
affidavit must identify the | 17 |
| profession of
the reviewing health professional. A copy of | 18 |
| the written report, clearly
identifying the plaintiff and | 19 |
| the reasons for the reviewing health
professional's | 20 |
| determination that a reasonable and meritorious cause for
| 21 |
| the filing of the action exists, including the reviewing | 22 |
| health care professional's name, address, current license | 23 |
| number, and state of licensure, must be attached to the | 24 |
| affidavit , but
information which would identify the | 25 |
| reviewing health professional may be
deleted from the copy | 26 |
| so attached .
Information regarding the preparation of a | 27 |
| written report by the reviewing health professional shall | 28 |
| not be used to discriminate against that professional in | 29 |
| the issuance of medical liability insurance or in the | 30 |
| setting of that professional's medical liability insurance | 31 |
| premium. No professional organization may discriminate | 32 |
| against a reviewing health professional on the basis that | 33 |
| the reviewing health professional has prepared a written | 34 |
| report.
| 35 |
| 2.
That the affiant was unable to obtain a consultation | 36 |
| required by
paragraph 1 because a statute of limitations |
|
|
|
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| 1 |
| would impair the action and
the consultation required could | 2 |
| not be obtained before the expiration of
the statute of | 3 |
| limitations. If an affidavit is executed pursuant to this
| 4 |
| paragraph, the affidavit
certificate and written report | 5 |
| required by paragraph 1 shall
be filed within 90 days after | 6 |
| the filing of the complaint. No additional 90-day | 7 |
| extensions pursuant to this paragraph shall be granted, | 8 |
| except where there has been a withdrawal of the plaintiff's | 9 |
| counsel. The defendant
shall be excused from answering or | 10 |
| otherwise pleading until 30 days after
being served with an | 11 |
| affidavit and a report
a certificate
required by paragraph | 12 |
| 1.
| 13 |
| 3.
That a request has been made by the plaintiff or his | 14 |
| attorney for
examination and copying of records pursuant to | 15 |
| Part 20 of Article VIII of
this Code and the party required | 16 |
| to comply under those Sections has failed
to produce such | 17 |
| records within 60 days of the receipt of the request. If an
| 18 |
| affidavit is executed pursuant to this paragraph, the | 19 |
| affidavit
certificate and
written report required by | 20 |
| paragraph 1 shall be filed within 90 days
following receipt | 21 |
| of the requested records. All defendants except those
whose | 22 |
| failure to comply with Part 20 of Article VIII of this Code | 23 |
| is the
basis for an affidavit under this paragraph shall be | 24 |
| excused from answering
or otherwise pleading until 30 days | 25 |
| after being served with the affidavit and report
| 26 |
| certificate
required by paragraph 1.
| 27 |
| (b)
Where an affidavit
a certificate and written report are | 28 |
| required pursuant to this
Section a separate affidavit
| 29 |
| certificate and written report shall be filed as to each
| 30 |
| defendant who has been named in the complaint and shall be | 31 |
| filed as to each
defendant named at a later time.
| 32 |
| (c)
Where the plaintiff intends to rely on the doctrine of | 33 |
| "res ipsa
loquitur", as defined by Section 2-1113 of this Code, | 34 |
| the affidavit
certificate and
written report must state that, | 35 |
| in the opinion of the reviewing health
professional, negligence | 36 |
| has occurred in the course of medical treatment.
The affiant |
|
|
|
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
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| 1 |
| shall certify upon filing of the complaint that he is relying
| 2 |
| on the doctrine of "res ipsa loquitur".
| 3 |
| (d)
When the attorney intends to rely on the doctrine of | 4 |
| failure to
inform of the consequences of the procedure, the | 5 |
| attorney shall certify
upon the filing of the complaint that | 6 |
| the reviewing health professional
has, after reviewing the | 7 |
| medical record and other relevant materials involved
in the | 8 |
| particular action, concluded that a reasonable health | 9 |
| professional
would have informed the patient of the | 10 |
| consequences of the procedure.
| 11 |
| (e)
Allegations and denials in the affidavit, made without | 12 |
| reasonable
cause and found to be untrue, shall subject the | 13 |
| party pleading them or his
attorney, or both, to the payment of | 14 |
| reasonable expenses, actually incurred
by the other party by | 15 |
| reason of the untrue pleading, together with
reasonable | 16 |
| attorneys' fees to be summarily taxed by the court upon motion
| 17 |
| made within 30 days of the judgment or dismissal. In no event | 18 |
| shall the
award for attorneys' fees and expenses exceed those | 19 |
| actually paid by the
moving party, including the insurer, if | 20 |
| any. In proceedings under this
paragraph (e), the moving party | 21 |
| shall have the right to depose and examine
any and all | 22 |
| reviewing health professionals who prepared reports used in
| 23 |
| conjunction with an affidavit required by this Section. | 24 |
| (f)
A reviewing health professional who in good faith | 25 |
| prepares a report
used in conjunction with an affidavit | 26 |
| required by this Section shall have
civil immunity from | 27 |
| liability which otherwise might result from the
preparation of | 28 |
| such report.
| 29 |
| (g)
The failure of the plaintiff to file an affidavit and | 30 |
| report in compliance with
to file a certificate required by
| 31 |
| this Section shall be
grounds for dismissal
under Section | 32 |
| 2-619.
| 33 |
|
(h) This Section does not apply to or affect any actions | 34 |
| pending
at the time of its effective date, but applies to cases | 35 |
| filed on or
after its effective date.
| 36 |
|
(i) This amendatory Act of 1997 does not apply to or |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| affect any actions
pending at the time of its effective date, | 2 |
| but applies to cases filed on or
after its effective date.
| 3 |
| (j) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act | 4 |
| of the 94th General Assembly apply to causes of action
accruing | 5 |
| on or after its effective date.
| 6 |
| (Source: P.A. 86-646; 90-579, eff. 5-1-98.)
| 7 |
| (735 ILCS 5/2-1704.5 new)
| 8 |
| Sec. 2-1704.5. Guaranteed payment of future medical | 9 |
| expenses and costs of life care. | 10 |
| (a) At any time, but no later than 5 days after a verdict | 11 |
| in the plaintiff's favor for a plaintiff's future medical | 12 |
| expenses and costs of life care is reached, either party in a | 13 |
| medical malpractice action may elect, or the court may enter an | 14 |
| order, to have the payment of the plaintiff's future medical | 15 |
| expenses and costs of life care made under this Section. | 16 |
| (b) In all cases in which a defendant in a medical | 17 |
| malpractice action is found liable for the plaintiff's future | 18 |
| medical expenses and costs of care, the trier of fact shall | 19 |
| make the following findings based on evidence presented at | 20 |
| trial: | 21 |
| (1) the present cash value of the plaintiff's future | 22 |
| medical expenses and costs of life care; | 23 |
| (2) the current year annual cost of the plaintiff's | 24 |
| future medical expenses and costs of life care; and | 25 |
| (3) the annual composite rate of inflation that should | 26 |
| be applied to the costs specified in item (2). | 27 |
| Based upon evidence presented at trial, the trier of fact | 28 |
| may also vary the amount of future costs under this Section | 29 |
| from year to year to account for different annual expenditures, | 30 |
| including the immediate medical and life care needs of the | 31 |
| plaintiff. The jury shall not be informed of an election to pay | 32 |
| for future medical expenses and costs of life care by | 33 |
| purchasing an annuity.
| 34 |
| (c) When an election is made to pay for future medical | 35 |
| expenses and costs of life care by purchasing an annuity, the |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| court shall enter a judgment ordering that the defendant pay | 2 |
| the plaintiff an amount equal to 20% of the present cash value | 3 |
| of future medical expenses and cost of life care determined | 4 |
| under subsection (b)(1) of this Section and ordering that the | 5 |
| remaining future expenses and costs be paid by the purchase of | 6 |
| an annuity by or on behalf of the defendant from a company that | 7 |
| has itself, or is irrevocably supported financially by a | 8 |
| company that has, at least 2 of the following 4 ratings: "A+ X" | 9 |
| or higher from A.M. Best Company; "AA-" or higher from Standard & | 10 |
| Poor's; "Aa3" or higher from Moody's; and "AA-" or higher | 11 |
| from Fitch. The annuity must guarantee that the plaintiff will | 12 |
| receive annual payments equal to 80% of the amount determined | 13 |
| in subsection (b)(2) inflated by the rate determined in | 14 |
| subsection (b)(3) for the life of the plaintiff. | 15 |
| (d) If the company providing the annuity becomes unable to | 16 |
| pay amounts required by the annuity, the defendant shall secure | 17 |
| a replacement annuity for the remainder of the plaintiff's life | 18 |
| from a company that satisfies the requirements of subsection | 19 |
| (c). | 20 |
| (e) A plaintiff receiving future payments by means of an | 21 |
| annuity under this Section may seek leave of court to assign or | 22 |
| otherwise transfer the right to receive such payments in | 23 |
| exchange for a negotiated lump sum value of the remaining | 24 |
| future payments or any portion of the remaining future payments | 25 |
| under the annuity to address an unanticipated financial | 26 |
| hardship under such terms as approved by the court. | 27 |
| (f) This Section applies to all causes of action accruing | 28 |
| on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 29 |
| 94th General Assembly.
| 30 |
| (735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5 new) | 31 |
| Sec. 2-1706.5. Standards for economic and non-economic | 32 |
| damages. | 33 |
| (a) In any medical malpractice action or wrongful death | 34 |
| action based on medical malpractice in which economic and | 35 |
| non-economic damages may be awarded, the following standards |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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LRB094 07024 LJB 37163 b |
|
| 1 |
| shall apply: | 2 |
| (1) In a case of an award against a hospital and its | 3 |
| personnel or hospital affiliates, as defined in Section | 4 |
| 10.8 of the Hospital Licensing Act, the total amount of | 5 |
| non-economic damages shall not exceed $1,000,000 awarded | 6 |
| to all plaintiffs in any civil action arising out of the | 7 |
| care. | 8 |
| (2) In a case of an award against a physician and the | 9 |
| physician's business or corporate entity and personnel or | 10 |
| health care professional, the total amount of non-economic | 11 |
| damages shall not exceed $500,000 awarded to all plaintiffs | 12 |
| in any civil action arising out of the care. | 13 |
| (3) In awarding damages in a medical malpractice case, | 14 |
| the finder of fact shall render verdicts with a specific | 15 |
| award of damages for economic loss, if any, and a specific | 16 |
| award of damages for non-economic loss, if any. | 17 |
| The trier of fact shall not be informed of the provisions | 18 |
| of items (1) and (2) of this subsection (a).
| 19 |
| (b) In any medical malpractice action where an individual | 20 |
| plaintiff earns less than the annual average weekly wage, as | 21 |
| determined by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, | 22 |
| at the time the action is filed, any award may include an | 23 |
| amount equal to the wage the individual plaintiff earns or the | 24 |
| annual average weekly wage. | 25 |
| (c) This Section applies to all causes of action accruing | 26 |
| on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 27 |
| 94th General Assembly.
| 28 |
| (735 ILCS 5/8-1901) (from Ch. 110, par. 8-1901)
| 29 |
| Sec. 8-1901. Admission of liability - Effect. | 30 |
| (a) The providing of, or payment
for, medical, surgical,
| 31 |
| hospital, or rehabilitation services, facilities, or equipment | 32 |
| by or on
behalf of any person, or the offer to provide, or pay | 33 |
| for, any one or
more of the foregoing, shall not be construed | 34 |
| as an admission of any
liability by such person or persons. | 35 |
| Testimony, writings, records,
reports or information with |
|
|
|
SB0475 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| respect to the foregoing shall not be
admissible in evidence as | 2 |
| an admission of any liability in any action of
any kind in any | 3 |
| court or before any commission, administrative agency,
or other | 4 |
| tribunal in this State, except at the instance of the person or
| 5 |
| persons so making any such provision, payment or offer.
| 6 |
| (b) Any expression of grief, apology, or explanation | 7 |
| provided by a health care provider, including, but not limited | 8 |
| to, a statement that the health care provider is "sorry" for | 9 |
| the outcome to a patient, the patient's family, or the | 10 |
| patient's legal representative about an inadequate or | 11 |
| unanticipated treatment or care outcome that is provided within | 12 |
| 72 hours of when the provider knew or should have known of the | 13 |
| potential cause of such outcome shall not be admissible as | 14 |
| evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any | 15 |
| tribunal, board, agency, or person. The disclosure of any such | 16 |
| information, whether proper, or improper, shall not waive or | 17 |
| have any effect upon its confidentiality or inadmissibility. As | 18 |
| used in this Section, a "health care provider" is any hospital, | 19 |
| nursing home or other facility, or employee or agent thereof, a | 20 |
| physician, or other licensed health care professional. Nothing | 21 |
| in this Section precludes the discovery or admissibility of any | 22 |
| other facts regarding the patient's treatment or outcome as | 23 |
| otherwise permitted by law.
| 24 |
| (c) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act | 25 |
| of the 94th General Assembly apply to causes of action accruing | 26 |
| on or after its effective date. | 27 |
| (Source: P.A. 82-280.)
| 28 |
| (735 ILCS 5/8-2501) (from Ch. 110, par. 8-2501)
| 29 |
| (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-7, | 30 |
| which has been held
unconstitutional)
| 31 |
| Sec. 8-2501. Expert Witness Standards. In any case in which | 32 |
| the standard of
care applicable to
given by a medical | 33 |
| professional
profession is at issue, the court shall apply the
| 34 |
| following standards to determine if a witness qualifies as an | 35 |
| expert witness
and can testify on the issue of the appropriate |
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| standard of care.
| 2 |
| (a) Whether the witness is board certified or board | 3 |
| eligible, or has completed a residency, in the same or | 4 |
| substantially similar medical specialties as the defendant and | 5 |
| is otherwise qualified by significant experience with the | 6 |
| standard of care, methods, procedures, and treatments relevant | 7 |
| to the allegations against the defendant
Relationship of the | 8 |
| medical specialties of the witness to the medical
problem or | 9 |
| problems
and the type of treatment administered in the case ;
| 10 |
| (b) Whether the witness has devoted
a majority
substantial | 11 |
| portion of his or her
work time to the practice of medicine, | 12 |
| teaching or University based research
in relation to the | 13 |
| medical care and type of treatment at issue which gave
rise to | 14 |
| the medical problem of which the plaintiff complains;
| 15 |
| (c)
whether the witness is licensed
in the same profession | 16 |
| with the same class of license as the defendant if the | 17 |
| defendant is an individual ; and
| 18 |
| (d) whether, in the case against a nonspecialist, the | 19 |
| witness can
demonstrate a sufficient familiarity with the | 20 |
| standard of care practiced in
this State.
| 21 |
| An expert shall provide evidence of active practice, | 22 |
| teaching, or engaging in university-based research. If | 23 |
| retired, an expert must provide evidence of attendance and | 24 |
| completion of continuing education courses for 3 years previous | 25 |
| to giving testimony. An expert who has not actively practiced, | 26 |
| taught, or been engaged in university-based research, or any | 27 |
| combination thereof, during the preceding 5 years may not be | 28 |
| qualified as an expert witness.
| 29 |
| The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of | 30 |
| the 94th General Assembly apply to causes of action accruing on | 31 |
| or after its effective date.
| 32 |
| (Source: P.A. 84-7.)
| 33 |
| Section 340. The Good Samaritan Act is amended by changing | 34 |
| Section 30 as follows:
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| (745 ILCS 49/30)
| 2 |
| Sec. 30. Free medical clinic; exemption from civil | 3 |
| liability for services
performed without compensation.
| 4 |
| (a) A person licensed under the Medical Practice Act of | 5 |
| 1987, a person
licensed to practice the treatment of human | 6 |
| ailments in any
other state or territory of the United States, | 7 |
| or a health care professional,
including but not limited to an | 8 |
| advanced practice nurse, retired physician, physician
| 9 |
| assistant, nurse, pharmacist, physical therapist, podiatrist, | 10 |
| or social worker
licensed in this State or any other state or | 11 |
| territory of the United States,
who, in good faith, provides | 12 |
| medical treatment,
diagnosis, or advice as a part of the | 13 |
| services of an
established free medical clinic providing care , | 14 |
| including but not limited to home visits, without charge to | 15 |
| medically indigent patients
which is limited to care that does | 16 |
| not require the services of a
licensed hospital or ambulatory | 17 |
| surgical treatment center and who receives
no fee or | 18 |
| compensation from that source shall not be liable for civil
| 19 |
| damages as a result of his or her acts or omissions in
| 20 |
| providing that medical treatment, except for willful or wanton | 21 |
| misconduct.
| 22 |
| (b) For purposes of this Section, a "free medical clinic" | 23 |
| is an
organized community based program providing medical care | 24 |
| without
charge to individuals unable to pay for it , at which | 25 |
| the
care provided does not include the use
of general | 26 |
| anesthesia or require an overnight stay in a health-care | 27 |
| facility.
| 28 |
| (c) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Section do not | 29 |
| apply to a
particular case unless the free medical
clinic has | 30 |
| posted in a conspicuous place on its premises an explanation of | 31 |
| the
exemption from civil liability provided herein.
| 32 |
| (d) The immunity from civil damages provided under | 33 |
| subsection (a) also
applies to physicians, retired physicians,
| 34 |
| hospitals, and other health care providers that provide
further | 35 |
| medical treatment, diagnosis, or advice , including but not | 36 |
| limited to hospitalization, office visits, and home visits, to |
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| a patient upon referral from
an established free medical clinic | 2 |
| without fee or compensation.
| 3 |
| (d-5) A free medical clinic may receive reimbursement from | 4 |
| the Illinois
Department of Public Aid, provided any | 5 |
| reimbursements shall be used only to pay
overhead expenses of | 6 |
| operating the free medical clinic and may not be used, in
whole | 7 |
| or in
part, to provide a fee or other compensation to any | 8 |
| person licensed under the
Medical
Practice Act of 1987 or any | 9 |
| other health care professional
who is receiving an exemption | 10 |
| under this Section. Any health care professional receiving an | 11 |
| exemption under this Section may not receive any fee or other | 12 |
| compensation in connection with any services provided to, or | 13 |
| any ownership interest in, the clinic. Medical care shall
not | 14 |
| include
an overnight stay in a health care
facility. | 15 |
| (e) Nothing in this Section prohibits a free medical clinic | 16 |
| from accepting
voluntary contributions for medical services | 17 |
| provided to a patient who has
acknowledged his or her ability | 18 |
| and willingness to pay a portion of the value
of the medical | 19 |
| services provided.
| 20 |
| (f) Any voluntary contribution collected for providing | 21 |
| care at a free medical
clinic shall be used only to pay | 22 |
| overhead expenses of operating the clinic. No
portion of any | 23 |
| moneys collected shall be used to provide a fee or other
| 24 |
| compensation to any person licensed under Medical Practice Act | 25 |
| of 1987.
| 26 |
| (g) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act | 27 |
| of the 94th General Assembly apply to causes of action
accruing | 28 |
| on or after its effective date.
| 29 |
| (Source: P.A. 89-607, eff. 1-1-97; 90-742, eff. 8-13-98.)
| 30 |
| ARTICLE 4. SORRY WORKS! PILOT PROGRAM ACT | 31 |
| Section 401. Short title. This Article 4 may be cited as | 32 |
| the Sorry Works! Pilot Program Act , and references in this | 33 |
| Article to "this Act" mean this Article. |
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| Section 405. Sorry Works! pilot program. The Sorry Works! | 2 |
| pilot program is established. During the first year of the | 3 |
| program's operation, participation in the program shall be open | 4 |
| to one hospital.
Hospitals may participate only with the | 5 |
| approval of the hospital administration and the hospital's | 6 |
| organized medical staff. During the second year of the | 7 |
| program's operation, participation in the program shall be open | 8 |
| to one additional hospital.
| 9 |
| The first participating hospital selected by the committee | 10 |
| established under Section 410 shall be located in a county with | 11 |
| a population greater than 200,000 that is contiguous with the | 12 |
| Mississippi River. | 13 |
| Under the program, participating hospitals and physicians | 14 |
| shall promptly acknowledge and apologize for mistakes in | 15 |
| patient care and promptly offer fair settlements. | 16 |
| Participating hospitals shall encourage patients and families | 17 |
| to retain their own legal counsel to ensure that their rights | 18 |
| are protected and to help facilitate negotiations for fair | 19 |
| settlements. Participating hospitals shall report to the | 20 |
| committee their total costs for healing art malpractice | 21 |
| verdicts, settlements, and defense litigation for the | 22 |
| preceding 5 years to enable the committee to determine average | 23 |
| costs for that hospital during that period. The committee shall | 24 |
| develop standards and protocols to compare costs for cases | 25 |
| handled by traditional means and cases handled under the Sorry | 26 |
| Works! protocol. | 27 |
| If the committee determines that the total costs of cases | 28 |
| handled under the Sorry Works! protocol by a hospital | 29 |
| participating in the program exceed the total costs that would | 30 |
| have been incurred if the cases had been handled by traditional | 31 |
| means, the hospital may apply for a grant from the Sorry Works! | 32 |
| Fund, a special fund that is created in the State Treasury, for | 33 |
| an amount, as determined by the committee, by which the total | 34 |
| costs exceed the total costs that would have been incurred if | 35 |
| the cases had been handled by traditional means; however, the | 36 |
| total of all grants from the Fund for cases in any single |
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| participating hospital in any year may not exceed the amount in | 2 |
| the Fund or $2,000,000, whichever is less.
All grants shall be | 3 |
| subject to appropriation. Moneys in the Fund shall consist of | 4 |
| funds transferred into the Fund or otherwise made available | 5 |
| from any source. | 6 |
| Section 410. Establishment of committee. | 7 |
| (a) A committee is established to develop, oversee, and | 8 |
| implement the Sorry Works! pilot program. The committee shall | 9 |
| have 9 members, each of whom shall be a voting member. Six | 10 |
| members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. The | 11 |
| committee shall be comprised as follows:
| 12 |
| (1) The President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of | 13 |
| the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, | 14 |
| and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives | 15 |
| shall each appoint 2 members. | 16 |
| (2) The Secretary of Financial and Professional | 17 |
| Regulation or his or her designee. | 18 |
| (b) The committee shall establish criteria for the program, | 19 |
| including but not limited to: selection of hospitals, | 20 |
| physicians, and insurers to participate in the program; and | 21 |
| creation of a subcommittee to review cases from hospitals and | 22 |
| determine whether hospitals, physicians, and insurers are | 23 |
| entitled to compensation under the program.
| 24 |
| (c) The committee shall communicate with hospitals, | 25 |
| physicians, and insurers that are interested in participating | 26 |
| in the program. The committee shall make final decisions as to | 27 |
| which applicants are accepted for the program. | 28 |
| (d) The committee shall report to the Governor and the | 29 |
| General Assembly annually. | 30 |
| (e) The committee shall publish data regarding the program. | 31 |
| (f) Committee members shall receive no compensation for the | 32 |
| performance of their duties as members, but each member shall | 33 |
| be paid necessary expenses while engaged in the performance of | 34 |
| those duties. |
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| Section 415. Termination of program. | 2 |
| (a) The program may be terminated at any time if the | 3 |
| committee, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, votes to | 4 |
| terminate the program.
| 5 |
| (b) If the program is not terminated under subsection (a), | 6 |
| the program shall terminate after its second year of operation.
| 7 |
| Section 495. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | 8 |
| Section
5.640 as follows:
| 9 |
| (30 ILCS 105/5.640 new)
| 10 |
| Sec. 5.640. The Sorry Works! Fund.
| 11 |
| ARTICLE 9. MISCELLANEOUS | 12 |
| Section 995. Inseverability. The provisions of this Act are | 13 |
| mutually dependent and inseverable. If any provision is held | 14 |
| invalid, then this entire Act, including all new and amendatory | 15 |
| provisions, is invalid. | 16 |
| Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 |
| becoming law. |
|