IllinoisHospitals would face limits on outpatient and telehealth facility fees
If enacted, Illinois health care providers would face limits on facility fees, report fee information, and risk penalties for violations.
What it does
Health care providers would generally be unable to charge facility fees for outpatient care, diagnostic services, or imaging, with exceptions for certain hospital and emergency settings.
Hospitals, health systems, and freestanding emergency centers would report facility-fee details each year, while providers would keep related records for four years.
Violations could bring audits and penalties of up to $1,000 per occurrence, while hospitals charging outpatient facility fees would inform patients about them.
Argument forPatients could pay fewer facility fees for outpatient services that the rules cover, especially when those services can safely be provided outside hospitals.
Argument againstHospitals and other providers may face added reporting, recordkeeping, audit, and compliance work, along with penalties for violations.
More detail
Health care providers would generally be barred from charging, billing, or collecting facility fees. The rule would cover outpatient facility fees charged by hospitals, hospital-based facilities, health systems, and freestanding emergency centers. Facility fees could still be charged for services on a hospital campus, at a facility with a licensed hospital emergency department, or for emergency services at a freestanding emergency center. Providers could not charge facility fees for outpatient evaluation and management services. Providers also could not charge fees for other outpatient, diagnostic, or imaging services that the Department of Public Health identifies as safely available outside hospitals.
Hospitals, health systems, and freestanding emergency centers would submit annual facility-fee reports to the Department of Public Health. Reports would cover each facility that charges or bills facility fees, patient visits, payments, revenue, and the highest-volume or highest-revenue services. The Department would publish the reported information on a public website. Health care providers would make records available for Department audits when requested in writing. The Department could set report formats and require other facility-fee information by rule. Reports would cover the preceding calendar year. Providers would keep requested audit records available for four years after furnishing services connected to a facility fee.
Violating the proposed facility-fee rules would be treated as an unlawful business practice, and providers could face administrative penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. The enforcement provisions would apply to any person who violates the facility-fee law and to health care providers that violate the law or its rules. The Department of Public Health or its designee could audit providers for compliance. A hospital that charges a facility fee for outpatient services would maintain a policy telling patients they may face the fee and explaining the fee's purpose, covered costs, and contact information.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 3Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Gregg JohnsonLatest
- Apr 17House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
- Apr 17Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
- Apr 14House Floor Amendment No. 1 Recommends Be Adopted Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee; 008-005-000Minor
- Vote recorded Do Pass, Amendment 1. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 14House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee
- Apr 13House Floor Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee
- Apr 13House Floor Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Tracy Katz MuhlMinor
- Apr 10Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short DebateMinor
- Apr 10Second Reading - Short DebateMinor
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Anne Stava
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Amy Briel
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Daniel Didech
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jawaharial Williams
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. William "Will" Davis
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Margaret A. DeLaRosa
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Katie Stuart
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Norma Hernandez
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Rita Mayfield
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Janet Yang Rohr
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Edgar González, Jr.
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Sharon Chung
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Sonya M. Harper
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lawrence "Larry" Walsh, Jr.
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II
- Apr 9Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Mary Beth Canty
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kevin John Olickal
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Barbara Hernandez
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Maura Hirschauer
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Suzanne M. Ness
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Sue Scherer
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Anna Moeller
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Yolonda Morris
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Lisa Davis
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Michael Crawford
- Apr 8Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Nabeela Syed
- Mar 20Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Will Guzzardi
- Mar 19Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Martha Deuter
- Mar 19Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Maurice A. West, II
- Mar 19Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Justin Cochran
- Mar 19Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short DebateMinor
- Mar 19Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Theresa Mah
- Mar 19Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Nicolle Grasse
- Mar 19Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Natalie A. Manley
- Mar 18Do Pass / Short Debate Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee; 013-000-000
- Vote recorded Do Pass. Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 24Assigned to Health Care Availability & Accessibility CommitteeMinor
- Feb 6Referred to Rules Committee
- Feb 6First ReadingMinor
- Jan 29Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Tracy Katz MuhlIntroduced
HealthcareConsumer ProtectionGovernment & Ethics