Recently, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill (S.B. 2934, Public Act 97-1115, 97th General Assembly) sponsored by Illinois State Senator Susan Garrett that amends the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act (the “Act”) in several critical ways, including but not limited to the following:
- New filing deadlines for final cost reports. A healthcare provider or entity that has been granted a certificate of need permit must (i) submit the final completion and cost report for its approved project within 90 days after the approved project’s completion date or extension thereof, and (ii) submit annual progress reports no earlier than 30 days before and no later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board’s (the “Board”) approval of the permit until the project is complete.
- Additional content requirements for annual progress reports. In order to maintain a valid permit, a permit holder’s annual progress report must include information regarding the committed funds expended toward the approved project. If an approved project is completed within one year of the Board’s approval of the certificate of need permit, then the first annual progress report must contain information relating to the expenditure commitment of the project’s total cost. If a project is not completed in one year, then, by the second annual progress report, a permit holder must expend 33 percent or more of the project’s total cost by signed contracts or other legal means.
- Fines for failure to submit a final cost report. Beginning Feb. 27, 2013, permit holders who fail to submit a final completion and cost report within 90 days after the approved project completion date (the “post-permit and reporting requirements set forth in Section 5 [of the Act]”) will be fined an amount not to exceed $10,000 plus an additional $10,000 for each 30-day period that the violation continues. This fine will continue to accrue until the date that (i) the post-permit requirements are met and the post-permit reports are received by the Board, or (ii) the matter is referred by the Board to its legal counsel. The accrued fine cannot be waived by a permit holder’s submitting the required information and reports. However, prior to the accrual of any fine, the Board must provide written notice to a permit holder of its post-permit and reporting requirements no later than 30 days before the due date of such requirements. (See Public Act 097-1115 (97th Illinois General Assembly)).
Healthcare providers seeking certificate of need permit approval in the state of Illinois must be especially careful to comply with all certificate of need permit requirements promulgated by the Act and rules and regulations issued thereunder. Failure to comply with such requirements, including failure to submit a final cost report, may carry hefty penalties and other implications for such entities.