A proposed bill in Illinois would allow any medical center in the state to essentially close and become a free-standing emergency center, according to an article on the Modern Healthcare website.
Currently, to become a stand-alone ER, facilities must be in communities of 50,000 people or less.
That eliminates Chicago, home to 18 percent of hospitals in Illinois, per 2016 numbers.
Downgrading facilities to emergency centers could also help right-size a market with a glut of empty hospital beds.
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