IL House Committee Approves Health Insurance Reform Proposal

An Illinois House committee has approved Governor Pritzker’s massive health insurance reform proposal. Among other features, the proposal would make Illinois the first state in the country to ban prior authorization for in-patient adult and children’s mental healthcare. Supporters say it would also prohibit step therapy — in which insurance companies push patients to accept less effective drug treatments before moving on to options their doctors originally recommended. The Pritzker administration plans to offer an amendment to the bill after further negotiations with the insurance industry.