The governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, has signed two new laws expanding insurance coverage for children whose allergies require live-saving EpiPens and Illinoisans suffering from Lyme disease.
"This legislation takes a big step forward in protecting our children and families," Governor Pritzker said in a statement. "Both of these new laws fulfill a core principle of this administration: state government ought to be standing up for working families. Lowering the cost of prescription drugs and expanding health care coverage is one important way to help lower costs and build a higher standard of living for all Illinoisans."
House Bill 889, which took effect immediately upon being signed, requires insurance companies to cover office visits, testing, and treatment for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.
"The ability to receive treatment when you have previously been insufficiently treated is life changing," said Rep. Daniel Swanson (R-Woodhull). "By mandating insurance coverage of long-term antibiotic treatment needed for patients, we are putting another piece of the puzzle into place for some patients and removing one additional hassle on their path to recovery."
The governor also signed House Bill 3435, which requires insurance companies to cover epinephrine injectors, most commonly prescribed as EpiPens, for children with severe allergies. The cost of an EpiPen has risen by more than 400 percent over the past decade for the two-pen injector pack. Without insurance, these EpiPens can cost a family nearly $700 and typically have a shelf life of a little more than a year before the medicine needs to be restocked in stores. The law takes effect on January 1, 2020.
"With steady increases in food allergies and other serious allergic conditions, families are relying on EpiPens more than ever before," said Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield). "We should be doing everything we can to expand access to affordable lifesaving drugs and medicines. No child with a serious allergy should be without an epinephrine injector because they cannot afford one."
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].