Pritzkers healthcare insurance reforms pass State Senate [Video]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A series of proposals changing the state’s health insurance laws are one step closer to becoming law.

The Senate passed two bills: the Healthcare Protection Act and one that would end short-term insurance plans.

The reforms are one of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D-Illinois) top legislative priorities, which he first highlighted at his State of the State address in February.

“I think there’s broad agreement that this is something really good for the people of Illinois,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event early Thursday. “It’ll lower people’s healthcare costs and increase the likelihood that people get the healthcare that they deserve.”

Pritzker’s health insurance reforms clear another legislative hurdle

The bill makes step therapy, where an insurance company only covers a less expensive treatment rather than the treatment a doctor prescribes to their patient until it’s proven to not work for the patient, illegal for insurance providers.

The bill also bans insurance companies from requiring prior authorization for mental …