Governor Should Veto HB 3360: Silver Cross Senior VP

This letter to the editor was submitted by Silver Cross Hospital Senior Vice President External Affairs Scott Paddock.

As a hospital leader who is proud of our courageous healthcare professionals for their heroic efforts on the front lines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, we urge the Governor to veto House Bill 3360 because of the devastating impacts it will have on patients, hospitals and the healthcare system.

This legislation quickly passed in the waning hours of the General Assembly’s lame duck session in January with no deliberation, discussion or debate – and no consideration for hospitals that would be so negatively impacted. This bill mandates 9 percent annual prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death cases, including medical liability cases, and this exorbitant interest rate accrues even before a lawsuit is filed. While HB 3360 is technical and legal in nature, the consequences of this bill are very easy to understand – it will increase healthcare costs, drive physicians – including specialists – out of Illinois, and cause physicians in training not to choose Illinois as a career workplace, further jeopardizing patients’ access to care, especially in our most vulnerable communities.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association conservatively estimates that statewide, this legislation will cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and maybe up to one billion dollars, coming directly from the bottom lines of hospitals (most of which are self-insured), not from insurance policies. At Silver Cross Hospital, we estimate the impact could be in excess of $10
million annually. That means scarce resources will be diverted from patient care to pay for unnecessary, unfair and exorbitant legal costs and higher settlements.

During the year-long pandemic, which continues to be the biggest challenge in healthcare in more than a century, my hospital and hospitals across the state have been financially devastated. HB 3360 will only place an even greater financial burden on healthcare providers and hospitals at a time when they are struggling to survive, while continuing to serve their patients and communities in the most challenging of circumstances.

We urge Governor Pritzker to veto HB3360 and support hospitals and healthcare professionals who are working day and night to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scott Paddock
Senior Vice President
External Affairs
Silver Cross Hospital