A new Illinois law is requiring hospitals to hand over far more detailed financial information to state regulators, but that data will be shielded from public view, NPR affiliate WBEZ reported July 27.
Under the measure, Illinois hospitals must file audited financial statements, monthly balance sheets and income statements, and utilization and revenue data broken out by payer, including Medicare and Medicaid, according to the report.
The financial and utilization data submitted under the law is exempt from the state’s Freedom of Information Act, cannot be subpoenaed and is inadmissible in private civil litigation, according to the report. The state may release only aggregated, non-facility-specific summaries, or disclose a hospital’s data with that hospital’s written consent.
The requirements are part of a broader hospital funding package that Gov. JB Pritzker signed in June to support at-risk hospitals, according to the report. The new law also creates a loan program for distressed hospitals and requires hospitals that owe the state money to file wind-down plans in case they close.
The legislation passed unanimously, but some lawmakers told the news outlet that they don’t support the confidentiality agreement as written. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, whose district includes recently closed West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill., said he doesn’t support keeping the data from the public. He said the public deserves to know whether a hospital is financially healthy.
The confidentiality provision was requested by the Illinois Health and Hospital Association. A spokesperson told the news outlet that the provision protects hospital data that, if viewed in isolation, might be misinterpreted or could expose proprietary business information.
