H.B. 711 Sponsors: Sen. Linda Holmes and Rep. Greg Harris

Current prior authorization requirements instituted by health insurance entities are forcing patients to wait too long for medically necessary and appropriate treatments. According to surveys from the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) and other medical organizations, these prior authorization requirements are causing critical patient care delays and potential adverse patient safety events. To address these issues, House Bill 711 will create a system to reduce long term health care costs by eliminating or reducing inefficiencies and by keeping people healthy on the front end.

• Read the Coalition Position Paper
• View the action alert
• Take Action at the Coalition Website
• Contact your legislators through the Grassroots Action Center
• Bill Status of HB 711
  

S.B. 105 Sponsor: Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

Removes language in the Nurse Practice Act requiring that a collaborating physician attest to the completion of the clinical experience required for an advanced practice registered nurse to practice without a written collaborative agreement. Removes a provision that includes prescribing benzodiazepines or Schedule II narcotic drugs only in a consultation relationship with a physician within the scope of practice of an advanced practice registered nurse with full practice authority.

• Bill Status of SB 105
• ISMS Position Paper

H.B. 147 Sponsor: Rep. Bob Morgan

House Bill 147 would prohibit the sale or distribution of a CBD product unless the CBD product has labeling and has undergone lab testing that meet labeling and minimum testing requirements.

• Bill Status of HB 147

H.B. 1820/S.B. 2566 Sponsors: Rep. Anna Moeller and Sen. Melinda Bush

These bills would eliminate important patient safety requirements including physician input, having an anesthesia plan agreement and physician availability to treat medical emergencies when nurse anesthetists provide care.  

Exempts the delivery of anesthesia during the surgical procedure performed by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist from the requirement that the collaborative relationship under an agreement not be construed to require the personal presence of a collaborating physician at the place where services are rendered.

• Bill Status of HB 1820
• ISMS Position Paper on HB 1820
• Bill Status of SB 2566 
• ISMS Position Paper on SB 2566
  

H.B. 739 Sponsor: Rep. Ann M. Williams

House Bill 739 provides that a health care professional who makes a clinical diagnosis of trichomoniasis may prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription antibiotic drugs to the infected person's sexual partner or partners for the treatment of the sexually transmissible disease without physical examination of the partner or partners.

• Bill Status of HB 739

S.B. 697/H.B. 2595 Sponsors: Sen. Laura Fine and Rep. Deb Conroy

Bill amends the Illinois Insurance Code to ensure that all Medicaid MCOs and commercial insurer medical necessity determinations concerning mental health and substance use disorders are fully consistent with generally accepted standards of care.

• Establishes a clear definition and standards for when services and treatment qualify as medically necessary.
• Requires insurers to rely on the transparent, publicly available guidelines published by nonprofit clinical societies for mental health disorder medical necessity determinations, as Illinois already requires for substance use disorders.
• Requires insurers to cover all medically necessary mental health and substance use disorder care and explicitly prohibits insurers from limiting benefits to short-term, acute care or from excluding certain levels of care (e.g., residential treatment).
• Encourages compliance with Illinois’ parity law by making sure illegal practices are appropriately penalized.
  

• Bill Status of SB 697
• Bill Status of HB 2595
• Fact Sheet

S.B. 579 Sponsor: Sen. Laura Fine

Senate bill 579 would require hospitals and facilities to offer a patient any unused portion of a facility-provided medication upon discharge when it is administered to a patient at the hospital or facility and is required for continuing treatment. 

• Bill Status of SB 579

S.B. 699 Sponsor: Sen. Julie A. Morrison

Senate bill 699 bans the retail sails of flavored tobacco products.

• Bill Status of SB 699

H.B. 1826/S.B. 677 Sponsor: Rep. Kathleen Willis and Sen. Ram Villivalam

These bills would require physicians to complete 6 hours of CME on the diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals with cognitive impairments, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

• Bill Status of HB 1826
• ISMS Position Paper on HB 1826
• Bill Status of SB 677

HB 348 Sponsor: Rep. Deb Conroy

This bill would mandate that prescribers offer a prescription for naloxone under certain circumstances, and require that physicians have specific conversations with not only patients but one or more individuals designated by the patients about addiction. This bill is duplicative of current law that allows pharmacists, under a standing order, to offer naloxone to any patient being dispensed an opioid.

• Bill Status of HB 0348

H.B. 1801/S.B. 1951 Sponsors: Rep. Terra Costa Howard and Sen. Emil Jones, III

Would license naturopaths as physicians and allow them to provide a full range of medical services to patients in Illinois,

• Bill Status of HB 1801
• ISMS Position Paper on HB 1801
• Bill Status of SB 1951

H.B. 1826/S.B. 145 Sponsors: Rep. Kathleen Willis and Sen. Laura M. Murphy

These bills would provide independent practice for physician assistants.

• Bill Status of HB 1826
• ISMS Position Paper on HB 1826
• Bill Status of SB 145
• ISMS Position Paper on SB 145
  

S.B. 2272 Sponsor: Sen. Dave Syverson

This bill would expand prescriptive authority for prescribing psychologists to include patients under 17 and over 65 years of age.

• Bill Status of SB 2272

H.B. 3498 Sponsor: Rep. Deb Conroy

House Bill 3498 establishes the following protections:

• Bars insurers from requiring patients to prove a hardship or access barrier in order to receive healthcare services through telehealth.
• Prohibits geographic or facility restrictions on telehealth services, allowing patients to be treated via telehealth in their home.
• Protects patient preference by establishing that a patient cannot be required to use telehealth services.
• Ensures patients will not be required to use a separate panel of providers or practitioners to receive telehealth services.
• Aligns telehealth practice with privacy laws for in-person practice, while giving healthcare providers the professional latitude to determine the appropriateness of specific sites and technology platforms for telehealth services.
• Aligns telehealth coverage and payment with in-person care, making appropriate patient access to care the priority and removing harmful barriers that shift costs to the patient and healthcare provider.
• Equal coverage eliminates policy loopholes that allow insurers to create separate telehealth networks which ship tax dollars to out-of-state providers that work outside of a patient’s care team.

• Bill Status of HB 3498
• ISMS Position Paper