HB4461eng 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4461 Engrossed LRB104 16887 BAB 30298 b

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Fair Patient Billing Act is amended by changing Section 30 as follows:

(210 ILCS 88/30)

Sec. 30. Pursuing collection action.

(a) Hospitals and their agents may pursue collection action against an uninsured patient only if the following conditions are met:

(1) The hospital has complied with the screening requirements set forth in Section 16 and applied and exhausted any discount available to a patient under Section 10 of the Hospital Uninsured Patient Discount Act.

(2) The hospital has given the uninsured patient the opportunity to:

(A) assess the accuracy of the bill;

(B) apply for financial assistance under the hospital's financial assistance policy; and

(C) avail themselves of a reasonable payment plan.

(3) If the uninsured patient has indicated an inability to pay the full amount of the debt in one payment, the hospital has offered the patient a reasonable payment plan. The hospital may require the uninsured patient to provide reasonable verification of his or her inability to pay the full amount of the debt in one payment.

(4) To the extent the hospital provides financial assistance and the circumstances of the uninsured patient suggest the potential for eligibility for charity care, the uninsured patient has been given at least 90 days following the date of discharge or receipt of outpatient care to submit an application for financial assistance and shall be provided assistance with the application in compliance with subsection (a) of Section 16 and Section 27.

(5) If the uninsured patient has agreed to a reasonable payment plan with the hospital, and the patient has failed to make payments in accordance with that reasonable payment plan.

(6) If the uninsured patient informs the hospital that he or she has applied for health care coverage under a public health insurance program (and there is a reasonable basis to believe that the patient will qualify for such program) but the patient's application is denied.

(a-5) A hospital shall proactively offer information on charity care options available to uninsured patients, regardless of their immigration status or residency.

(b) A hospital may not refer a bill, or portion thereof, to a collection agency or attorney for collection action against the insured patient, without first ensuring compliance with Section 16 and offering the patient the opportunity to request a reasonable payment plan for the amount personally owed by the patient. Such an opportunity shall be made available for the 90 days following the date of the initial bill. If the insured patient requests a reasonable payment plan, but fails to agree to a plan within 90 days of the request, the hospital may proceed with collection action against the patient.

(c) No collection agency, law firm, or individual may initiate legal action for non-payment of a hospital bill against a patient without the written approval of an authorized hospital employee who reasonably believes that the conditions for pursuing collection action under this Section have been met.

(c-5) For any legal action initiated against a patient for unpaid medical debt, a hospital may not file for or be granted a lien upon that patient's primary residence.

(d) Nothing in this Section prohibits a hospital from engaging an outside third party agency, firm, or individual to manage the process of implementing the hospital's financial assistance and reasonable payment plan programs and policies so long as such agency, firm, or individual is contractually bound to comply with the terms of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-504, eff. 12-1-21; 103-323, eff. 1-1-24.)

Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by changing Section 12-101 as follows:

(735 ILCS 5/12-101) (from Ch. 110, par. 12-101)

Sec. 12-101. Lien of judgment. With respect to the creation of liens on real estate by judgments, all real estate in the State of Illinois is divided into 2 classes.

The first class consists of all real property, the title to which is registered under "An Act concerning land titles", approved May 1, 1897, as amended.

The second class consists of all real property not registered under "An Act concerning land titles".

As to real estate in class one, a judgment is a lien on the real estate of the person against whom it is entered for the same period as in class two, when Section 85 of "An Act concerning land titles", has been complied with.

As to real estate included within class two, a judgment is a lien on the real estate of the person against whom it is entered in any county in this State, including the county in which it is entered, only from the time a transcript, certified copy or memorandum of the judgment is filed in the office of the recorder in the county in which the real estate is located. The lien may be foreclosed by an action brought in the name of the judgment creditor or its assignee of record under Article XV in the same manner as a mortgage of real property, except that the redemption period shall be 6 months from the date of sale and the real estate homestead exemption under Section 12-901 shall apply. A judgment resulting from the entry of an order requiring child support payments shall be a lien upon the real estate of the person obligated to make the child support payments, but shall not be enforceable in any county of this State until a transcript, certified copy, or memorandum of the lien is filed in the office of the recorder in the county in which the real estate is located. Any lien hereunder arising out of an order for support shall be a lien only as to and from the time that an installment or payment is due under the terms of the order. Further, the order for support shall not be a lien on real estate to the extent of payments made as evidenced by the records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court or State agency receiving payments pursuant to the order. In the event payments made pursuant to that order are not paid to the Clerk of the Circuit Court or a State agency, then each lien imposed by this Section may be released in the following manner:

(a) A Notice of Filing and an affidavit stating that all installments of child support required to be paid pursuant to the order under which the lien or liens were imposed have been paid shall be filed with the office of recorder in each county in which each such lien appears of record, together with proof of service of such notice and affidavit upon the recipient of such payments.

(b) Service of such affidavit shall be by any means authorized under Sections 2-203 and 2-208 of the Code of Civil Procedure or under Supreme Court Rules 11 or 105(b).

(c) The Notice of Filing shall set forth the name and address of the judgment debtor and the judgment creditor, the court file number of the order giving rise to the judgment and, in capital letters, the following statement:

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ON (insert date) THE ATTACHED AFFIDAVIT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE RECORDER OF .... COUNTY, ILLINOIS, WHOSE ADDRESS IS ........, ILLINOIS. IF, WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, YOU FAIL TO FILE AN AFFIDAVIT OBJECTING TO THE RELEASE OF THE STATED JUDGMENT LIEN OR LIENS, IN THE ABOVE OFFICE, SUCH JUDGMENT LIEN WILL BE DEEMED TO BE RELEASED AND NO LONGER SUBJECT TO FORECLOSURE. THIS RELEASE OF LIEN WILL NOT ACT AS A SATISFACTION OF SUCH JUDGMENT.

(d) If no affidavit objecting to the release of the lien or liens is filed within 28 days of the Notice described in paragraph (c) of this Section such lien or liens shall be deemed to be released and no longer subject to foreclosure.

A judgment is not a lien on real estate for longer than 7 years from the time it is entered or revived, unless the judgment is revived within 7 years after its entry or last revival and a new memorandum of judgment is recorded prior to the judgment and its recorded memorandum of judgment becoming dormant.

When a judgment is revived it is a lien on the real estate of the person against whom it was entered in any county in this State from the time a transcript, certified copy or memorandum of the order of revival is filed in the office of the recorder in the county in which the real estate is located.

A foreign judgment registered or filed pursuant to Sections 12-630 through 12-672 of this Act is a lien upon the real estate of the person against whom it was entered only from the time (1) a copy of the affidavit required by Section 12-653 with a copy of the foreign judgment attached showing the filing in a court of this State or (2) a transcript, certified copy or memorandum of a final judgment of the court of this State entered on an action to enforce a foreign judgment is filed in the office of the recorder in the county in which the real estate is located. However, no such judgment shall be a lien on any real estate registered under "An Act concerning land titles", as amended, until Section 85 of that Act has been complied with.

The release of any transcript, certified copy or memorandum of judgment or order of revival which has been recorded shall be filed by the person receiving the release in the office of the recorder in which such judgment or order has been recorded.

Such release shall contain in legible letters a statement as follows:

FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE OWNER, THIS RELEASE SHALL BE FILED WITH THE RECORDER OR THE REGISTRAR OF TITLES IN WHOSE OFFICE THE LIEN WAS FILED.

The term "memorandum" as used in this Section means a memorandum or copy of the judgment signed by a judge or a copy attested by the clerk of the court entering it and showing the court in which entered, date, amount, number of the case in which it was entered, name of the party in whose favor and name and last known address of the party against whom entered. If the address of the party against whom the judgment was entered is not known, the memorandum or copy of judgment shall so state.

The term "memorandum" as used in this Section also means a memorandum or copy of a child support order signed by a judge or a copy attested by the clerk of the court entering it or a copy attested by the administrative body entering it.

This Section shall not be construed as showing an intention of the legislature to create a new classification of real estate, but shall be construed as showing an intention of the legislature to continue a classification already existing.

No judgment relating to unpaid medical debt may create a lien on real property owned by the patient against whom the judgment is entered that is the primary residence of the patient.

(Source: P.A. 97-350, eff. 1-1-12; 98-557, eff. 1-1-14.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2027.