Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) took a stand against mental health discrimination on July 23, signing a bill into law that will allow for most insurance beneficiaries to receive timely treatment for various mental health disorders.
The bill gives individuals facing mental, emotional and substance abuse conditions access to an adequate network of health care providers, and patients will only have to wait up to ten business days for an initial appointment, and only up to 20 business days for a follow-up.
“Oftentimes individuals can’t afford to wait days or weeks for mental health or substance use disorder treatment,” Illinois Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) told Capitol News Illinois. “It’s imperative that Illinoisans have easy access to timely and reliable mental health care.”
The bill will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
Insurers will also have to ensure that the needed health care providers are within 30 miles or 30 minutes from the patients' homes in Cook County, and the surrounding collar counties as well.
The bill also states that if no in-network providers are available for a patient, insurance companies will also have to make exceptions to out-of-network copays, according to Capitol News Illinois.
"Overcoming an addiction means putting your future first,” Illinois Sen. Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove), the lead Senate sponsor of the bill, told Capitol News Illinois. “I’m excited to see insurance companies will no longer be able to punish individuals for changing their lives for the better.”
