Illinois regulators have little power to stop hospital closures. Lawmakers are stepping in.

When West Suburban Medical Center abruptly closed its doors temporarily last month, saying it had run out of cash to pay staff, there was little warning for thousands of patients and hundreds of employees.

Illinois regulators tasked with overseeing hospitals had little power to stop it. They also might not be able to keep open some of the dozens of other safety net hospitals around the state that mostly treat low-income and immigrant communities amid federal changes next year that could drastically reduce how much money medical centers get paid.

But two Democratic state lawmakers are proposing legislation to help the state better prepare. Bills from state Sen. Laura Fine and state Rep. Robyn Gabel would require all hospitals to file plans with the state in case they close or scale back services to make sure patients don’t fall through the cracks. For-profit hospitals owned by investors, like West Suburban, also would have to give the state a deeper look into their finances. Now, that’s largely shielded from the public.

“The state, with legislation like this, is really stepping up to make sure that our hospital system is strong and that people are able to get the care that they need … so we are really ready for whatever happens in the future,” said Fine, who represents the northern suburbs and is sponsoring the Senate bill.

State Sen. Laura Fine is proposing legislation that she hopes will better protect patients if there is a closure and requires hospitals to plan ahead.

Rich Hein/Sun-Times file

The proposed legislation was filed in February. Fine said she doesn’t know if it would have prevented West Suburban’s closure, “but it would have prepared us for it, and a plan would have been in place once that process started.”

When the Oak Park hospital suddenly closed, several lawmakers called for better state oversight, especially considering the millions of taxpayer dollars hospitals receive to treat patients and pay for operations.

“We do need t