SPRINGFIELD - Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement in response to passage of bills comprising the Healthcare Protection Act:
"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.
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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."
Statement from Comptroller Susana Mendoza on passage of the Healthcare Protection Act
"I applaud Senate and House lawmakers for passing HB 5395, the Healthcare Protection Act (HPA). Sponsored by Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Anna Moeller, the legislation finally gives power back to patients and their doctors to make personal medical decisions. Big, powerful insurance companies should not be dictating treatment options for patients, and I thank the sponsors for carrying the bill over the finish line.
"I also thank the Governor for proposing these comprehensive reforms that will prevent insurers from denying and delaying physician-ordered treatments by banning “step-therapy,” where patients have to try less expensive treatments before the treatment initially recommended by their doctor.
"The HPA will also remove prior authorization requirements for in-patient mental health care, making Illinois the first state to do so, and requires the Illinois Department of Insurance to approve rate increases proposed by large group health plans.
"I look forward to the bill becoming law."
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