For his part, Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-West Jordan, who started the debate in 2005 when he proposed a 3 percent gross receipts tax on the largely tax-exempt IHC, said his attitude toward the health-care giant has changed.

"I'm not near as aggressive toward IHC," he said last week. "I'm appreciative of what they've done."

Waddoups and his task force co-chairman, Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, point to those changes in a final task force report that will be presented Monday.

The changes include:

• 6.5 percent reduction in the interest rate for patients on payment plans.

• Establishment of citizen advisory groups to review Intermountain's billing and collection processes.

• Creation of a new health plan that allows any qualified physician or health-care facility to join the plan's network.

Doug Hammer, an Intermountain vice president, deflected questions about whether the task force's spotlight led to any specific questions, noting that those cited in the final report were in the works prior to the formation of the legislative body. Still, he praised the process as being "fair and open" and, overall, good for the state of health care in Utah.

"It was a great opportunity for Intermountain Healthcare to tell its story and have an opportunity to respond to questions," he said. "The dialogue was very healthy. I think everybody became better informed about what was going on in the marketplace, not just Intermountain Healthcare."

An independent report, commissioned by the task force at the price of $297,000, found that Utah has a competitive health-care system that delivers quality care at reasonable prices. The consultant also found that Intermountain's vertically integrated system — ownership of hospitals, contracts with physician providers and the provision of its own health insurance — actually fosters competition.

The findings pleased Intermountain — Hammer last week called the report "the best decision the task force made" — while other market players, and some legislators, were unhappy with the results.

Mayne points to the "big expensive report" as his biggest disappointment with the task force, as does Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George.

"I was very disappointed in the content of that study," Hickman said. "I don't think they recognized the diversity in our state. They concentrated far too much along the Wasatch Front."

Once the report was released, however, the task force was able to move past the focus on Intermountain to the health-care system as a whole, lawmakers said.