Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
The
purpose of the Health Facilities Planning Act is to establish
a procedure designed to reverse the trends of increasing costs of health care
resulting from unnecessary construction of health care facilities.
This program is established to:
1)
improve the financial ability of
the public to obtain necessary health services;
2)
establish an orderly and
comprehensive health care delivery system which will guarantee the availability
of quality health careto the general
public;
3)
maintain and improve the provision of essential health care services
and increase the accessibility of those services to the medically underserved
and indigent;
4)
assure that the reduction and closure of health care services or
facilities is performed in an orderly and timely manner, and that these actions
are deemed to be in the best interests of the public; and
5)
assess the financial burden to
patients caused by unnecessary health care construction and
modification. [20
ILCS 3960/2 ].
b) Decisions regarding proposed new health
services and facilities shall be made for reasons having to do with the
community health needs in the various parts of the State. The burden of proof
on all issues pertaining to an application shall be on the applicant.
c) The health facilities and services review
program shall be administered with the goal of maximizing the efficiency of
capital investment and the objectives of:
1)
Promoting development of more effective methods of delivering health
care;
2) Improving distribution of
health care facilities and services and ensuring access to needed health care
services for the general public, the medically indigent and similar underserved
populations;
3) Controlling the
increase of health care costs;
4)
Promoting planning for health care services at the facility, regional and state
levels;
5) Maximizing the use of
existing health care facilities and services that represent the least costly
and most appropriate levels of care; and
6) Minimizing the unnecessary duplication of
health care facilities and services.
