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In late June Governor Blagojevich signed two bills that will improve mental health coverage provided by Illinois insurance carriers, including HMO’s.
House
Bill 4125 The first bill was House Bill 4125. One part of this bill mandates that insurers provide coverage for 20 additional outpatient visits for speech therapy required for treatment of persons suffering from pervasive developmental disorders, such as autism.
The bill’s major provision, however, requires that all Illinois insurance providers, including HMO’s (except for employer provided coverage where the employer has 50 or fewer employees) cover serious mental illnesses the same way as they cover other diseases. This means the same maximum limits, the same deductibles, the same co-pays, the same everything.
The law also specifies that all group health benefit plans, including HMO’s, shall allow for an annual minimum of 45 days of inpatient treatment for mental illness and 35 (see below) visits for outpatient treatment, including group and individual outpatient treatment. In addition, these group health plans may not include a lifetime limit on the number of days of inpatient treatment or the number of outpatient visits.
We are very pleased that the Governor signed this bill and are especially pleased at the large number of co-sponsors it had – 33 in the House and 20 in the Senate. Legislators from our area who were co-sponsors include Representatives Paul Froelich, Lou Lang, Sid Mathias, Karen May, Elaine Nekritz, and Kathy Ryg, as well as Senators Susan Garrett, Terry Link, John Millner, Carole Pankau and Jeff Schoenberg. If any of these are your State Representative or Senator, do take a moment and thank them.
House Bill 4202
The Governor
signed House Bill 4202, another bill to increase mental health benefits
insurers are required to provide. This bill increases the
number of outpatient visits for mental health treatment from 35
to 60 per year. This minimum of 60 visits supersedes
the 35
set forth in HB 4125, mentioned above. HB 4202 also had several
area sponsors, including Senator Jeff Schoenberg, and
Representatives Elizabeth Coulson, Jack Franks, Elaine Nekritz
and Kathy Ryg.
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