Bill Text: IL SB1998 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Antitrust Act. Requires the Attorney General to consent to covered transactions of health care facilities before a covered transaction may take effect.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2025-02-06 - Referred to Assignments [SB1998 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1998-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1998 Introduced 2/6/2025, by Sen. Graciela Guzm�n SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
740 ILCS 10/7.2a
Amends the Illinois Antitrust Act. Requires the Attorney General to consent to covered transactions of health care facilities before a covered transaction may take effect.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Antitrust Act is amended by
changing Section 7.2a as follows:
(740 ILCS 10/7.2a)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)
Sec. 7.2a. Notification to the Attorney General.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Acquisition" means an agreement, arrangement, or activity
the consummation of which results in a person acquiring
directly or indirectly the control of another person.
"Acquisition" includes the acquisition of voting securities
and noncorporate interests, such as assets, capital stock,
membership interests, or equity interests.
"Contracting affiliation" means the formation of a
relationship between 2 or more entities that permits the
entities to negotiate jointly with health carriers or
third-party administrators over rates for professional medical
services, or for one entity to negotiate on behalf of the other
entity with health carriers or third-party administrators over
rates for professional medical services. "Contracting
affiliation" does not include arrangements among entities

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under common ownership.
"Covered transaction" means any merger, acquisition, or
contracting affiliation between 2 or more health care
facilities or provider organizations not previously under
common ownership or contracting affiliation.
"Health care facility" means the following facilities,
organizations, and related persons:
(1) An ambulatory surgical treatment center required
to be licensed under the Ambulatory Surgical Treatment
Center Act.
(2) An institution, place, building, or agency
required to be licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act.
(3) A hospital, ambulatory surgical treatment center,
or kidney disease treatment center maintained by the State
or any department or agency thereof.
(4) A kidney disease treatment center, including a
free-standing hemodialysis unit required to meet the
requirements of 42 CFR 494 in order to be certified for
participation in Medicare and Medicaid under Titles XVIII
and XIX of the federal Social Security Act of 1935.
(5) An institution, place, building, or room used for
the performance of outpatient surgical procedures that is
leased, owned, or operated by or on behalf of an
out-of-state facility.
(6) An institution, place, building, or room used for
provision of a health care category of service, as defined

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under the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,
including, but not limited to, cardiac catheterization and
open heart surgery.
With the exception of those health care facilities
specifically included in this Section, nothing in this Section
shall be intended to include facilities operated as a part of
the practice of a physician or other licensed health care
professional, whether practicing in his or her individual
capacity or within the legal structure of any partnership,
medical or professional corporation, or unincorporated medical
or professional group. Further, this Section shall not apply
to physicians or other licensed health care professional's
practices where such practices are carried out in a portion of
a health care facility under contract with such health care
facility by a physician or by other licensed health care
professionals, whether practicing in his or her individual
capacity or within the legal structure of any partnership,
medical or professional corporation, or unincorporated medical
or professional groups, unless the entity constructs,
modifies, or establishes a health care facility as
specifically defined in this Section.
"Health care services revenue" means the total revenue
received for health care services in the previous 12 months.
"Health carriers" has the meaning given to that term in
Section 10 of the Health Carrier External Review Act.
"Hedge fund" means a pool of funds managed by investors

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for the purpose of earning a return on those funds, regardless
of the strategies used to manage the funds. "Hedge fund"
includes, but is not limited to, a pool of funds managed or
controlled by private limited partnerships. "Hedge fund" does
not include:
(1) Natural persons or other entities that contribute,
or promise to contribute, funds to the hedge fund, but
otherwise do not participate in the management of the
hedge fund or the fund's assets, or in any change in
control of the hedge fund or the fund's assets.
(2) Entities that solely provide or manage debt
financing secured in whole or in part by the assets of a
health care facility, including, but not limited to, banks
and credit unions, commercial real estate lenders, bond
underwriters, and trustees.
"Illinois health care entity" means a health care facility
or provider organization that has an office in or is doing
business in this State.
"Merger" means the consolidation of 2 or more
organizations, including 2 or more organizations joining
through a common parent organization or 2 or more
organizations forming a new organization, but does not include
a corporate reorganization.
"Out-of-state health care entity" means a health care
facility or provider organization that is not headquartered in
this State and does not do business in this State.

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"Private equity group" means an investor or group of
investors who primarily engage in the raising or returning of
capital and who invests, develops, or disposes of specified
assets. "Private equity group" does not include natural
persons or other entities that contribute or promise to
contribute funds to the private equity group, but otherwise do
not participate in the management of the private equity group
or the group's assets, or in any change in control of the
private equity group or the group's assets manner, including,
but not limited to, lease, transfer, exchange, option, receipt
of a conveyance, creation of a joint venture, or any other
manner of purchase, by a private equity group or hedge fund of
a material amount of the assets or operations, or a change of
control, of a health care facility in this State.
"Provider organization" means a corporation, partnership,
business trust, association, or organized group of persons,
whether incorporated or not, which is in the business of
health care delivery or management and that represents 20 or
more health care providers in contracting with health carriers
or third-party administrators for the payment of health care
services. "Provider organization" includes physician
organizations, physician-hospital organizations, independent
practice associations, provider networks, and accountable care
organizations.
"Third-party administrator" means an entity that
administers payments for health care services on behalf of a

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client in exchange for an administrative fee.
(b) Health care facilities or provider organizations that
are party to a covered transaction shall provide notice of
such transaction to the Attorney General no later than 30 days
prior to the transaction closing or effective date of the
transaction.
Covered transactions between an Illinois health care
entity and an out-of-state health care entity must provide
notice under this subsection where the out-of-state entity
generates $10,000,000 or more in annual revenue from patients
residing in this State.
(c) The written notice provided by the parties under
subsection (b) shall be provided as follows:
(1) For any health care facility or provider
organization that is a party to a covered transaction and
files a premerger notification with the Federal Trade
Commission or the United States Department of Justice, in
compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act of 1976, 15 U.S.C. 18a, the notice
requirement is satisfied by providing a copy of such
filing to the Attorney General at the same time as it is
provided to the federal government.
(2) For any health care facility that is a party to a
covered transaction that is not described in paragraph
(1), the notice requirement is satisfied when the
healthcare facility files an application for a change of

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ownership with the Health Facilities and Services Review
Board, in compliance with the Illinois Health Facilities
Planning Act. The Health Facilities and Services Review
Board shall provide a copy of such filing to the Attorney
General at the same time as it is provided to the
applicable State legislators under subsection (a) of
Section 8.5 of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning
Act.
(3) For any health care facility or provider
organization that is a party to a covered transaction that
is not described in paragraph (1) or (2), written notice
provided by the parties must include:
(A) the names of the parties and their current
business address;
(B) identification of all locations where health
care services are currently provided by each party;
(C) a brief description of the nature and purpose
of the proposed transaction; and
(D) the anticipated effective date of the proposed
transaction.
Nothing in this subsection prohibits the parties to a
covered transaction from voluntarily providing additional
information to the Attorney General.
(d) The Attorney General may make any requests for
additional information from the parties that is relevant to
its investigation of the covered transaction within 30 days of

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the date notice is received under subsections (b) and (c). If
the Attorney General requests additional information, the
covered transaction may not proceed until 30 days after the
parties have substantially complied with the request. Any
subsequent request for additional information by the Attorney
General shall not further delay the covered transaction from
proceeding. Nothing in this Section precludes the Attorney
General from conducting an investigation or enforcing State or
federal antitrust laws at a later date.
(d-1) The Attorney General must provide written consent to
a covered transaction before it may take effect if a private
equity group or hedge fund provides any financing to the
covered transaction.
(e) Any health care facility or provider organization that
fails to comply with any provision of this Section is subject
to a civil penalty of not more than $500 per day for each day
during which the health care facility or provider organization
is in violation of this Section.
Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that a
health care facility or provider organization has engaged in
or is engaging in a covered transaction without complying with
the provisions of this Section, the Attorney General may apply
for and obtain, in an action in the Circuit Court of Sangamon
or Cook County, a temporary restraining order or injunction,
or both, prohibiting the health care facility or provider
organization from continuing its noncompliance or doing any

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act in furtherance thereof. The court may make such further
orders or judgments, at law or in equity, as may be necessary
to remedy such noncompliance.
Before bringing such an action or seeking to recover a
civil penalty, the Attorney General shall permit the health
care facility or provider organization to come into compliance
with this Section within 10 days of being notified of its
alleged noncompliance. The right to cure noncompliance does
not exist on or after the covered transaction's proposed or
actual closing date of the covered transaction, whichever is
sooner.
(f) This Section is repealed on January 1, 2027.
(Source: P.A. 103-526, eff. 1-1-24.)