SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan overhauling health insurance in Illinois is heading to his desk. The state House of Representatives signed off on Senate changes to two bills Saturday allowing them to go Pritzker for his signature.
One bill, known as the Healthcare Protection Act, would do several things.
It would ban so-called “step therapy.” This is when an insurance company requires a patient to try and fail alternative medications before covering medications their doctor recommends.
It would also ban prior authorization for in-person mental health treatment for the first 72 hours, and it require insurers post all procedures requiring prior authorization.
“This is a very important bill that is going to make very important reforms in our insurance industry helping consumers across the state access care and get the health care that they need,” said state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the bill’s House sponsor.
The bill’s opponents, however, fear the proposed reforms could make health insurance too expensive.
“The concern I have is that we keep adding benefits, and they’re all good, but we keep making insurance so good that people can’t afford it any longer,” said state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley.
The bill got bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
It originally included a ban on short-term limited duration (STLD) plans, or so-call “junk” plans. The Senate chose to put the STLD ban in a separate stand-alone bill. The Senate passed both bills Thursday.
The state House of Representatives passed the Senate’s STLD plan ban in a party-line vote.
That bill’s supporters argue these plans are exempt from and often don’t meet the minimum standards of the Affordable Care Act. They typically don’t cover pre-existing conditions.
“These are the predatory ‘junk’ insurance plans that have been plaguing the State of Illinois giving people, who are more often than not between jobs, the false sense of security when, in fact, the are flying without a parachute,” said state Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, the bill’s House sponsor.
The bill’s opponents argue it will limit choices in the insurance market.
“These plans are not ‘junk’ plans. There are some that are bare bones. The vast majority of these that are sold are with good and decent limitations that provide value to our Illinois citizens and consumers in this state,” said state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore.
Keicher works as an insurance agent in addition to being a lawmaker.
Pritzker released a statement Saturday celebrating the bills’ passage:
“Today’s passage of the Healthcare Protection Act bill package by my partners in the Illinois General Assembly is a historic win for patients across this state. When I first proposed this legislation in my FY25 Budget Address, I said we would put power back into the hands of patients and their doctors and reform predatory insurance companies and their unfair practices. That’s exactly what we did.
This legislation will protect patients through an array of targeted reforms: banning step therapy, banning prior authorization for crisis mental healthcare, banning junk insurance plans, and ending unchecked rate increases for large group insurance companies.
I’m grateful to our teams at the Department of Insurance and Department of Healthcare and Family Services, as well as our cosponsors in the General Assembly for getting these sweeping insurance reforms across the finish line with bipartisan support. I also want to thank this package’s chief bill sponsors, Representative Anna Moeller and Senator Robert Peters, for championing this legislation and for your outstanding contributions to the longtime fight for health insurance reform.
Today, we celebrate a win for Illinois families and healthcare providers everywhere. We’re saving lives and making the path to care easier for all.”
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