Pritzker signs bills altering Illinois’ health insurance market
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[June 28, 2023]
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that will
dramatically alter the health insurance market in Illinois.
The measures establish a state-based exchange for policies sold under
the Affordable Care Act and give the Illinois Department of Insurance
the authority to modify or reject proposed rate increases.
“Since day one of my administration, I've been committed to making
health care more equitable and holistic and accessible,” Pritzker said
at a bill signing ceremony in Chicago. “With these bills, we aren't just
increasing access to affordable preventative care, we're improving the
quality of life for millions who call Illinois home.”
Under the Affordable Care Act, people who are not eligible for Medicaid
but who do not have access to affordable health insurance through their
employer can buy subsidized policies through an online exchange operated
by either the federal government or their state government.
Illinois, however, was among the states that chose not to set up its own
exchange. Instead, it pays an annual fee so Illinois residents can use
the federal exchange.
That will change under House Bill 579, which calls on the Department of
Insurance to set up a state-based exchange that will be fully
operational by 2026.
Dana Popish Severinghaus, director of the Insurance Department, said
during an interview after the bill signing that having a state-based
exchange ultimately will make it easier for Illinois consumers to shop
for insurance.
“I think it's ultimately our goal that Illinois consumers can have a
one-stop shop where, whether they need to enroll in an ACA plan or a
Medicaid plan or, you know, their family is split, we can do that in one
place for them to make it as easy as possible,” she said.
Pritzker said on Tuesday having a state-based exchange will give
Illinois the flexibility to offer more enrollment periods during the
year than the federal exchange offers and to coordinate with nonprofit
organizations that help people navigate the marketplace.
But perhaps more importantly, Pritzker said, it will protect Illinois
consumers from any potential changes in federal policy. During the Trump
administration, funding for advertising and nonprofit groups to help
people sign up for insurance were slashed and the yearly number of
enrollment days was cut roughly in half.
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"Oh, I’m signed!” exclaims Sen. Laura
Fine, D-Glenview, as she realizes that her bill giving the
Department of Insurance new oversight authority had been approved by
Gov. JB Pritzker. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
“I’m suggesting that if Joe Biden were to lose reelection to a
Republican, that people nationally would lose their health care coverage
or lose their access to that federal exchange, but they won’t lose
access to the Illinois exchange,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker also signed House Bill 2296, which, for the first time, gives
Illinois insurance regulators authority to review health insurance rate
changes and, if necessary, modify or reject those proposed changes –
authority that regulators in 41 other states already have.
Under the bill, beginning in 2025, companies that offer individual and
small group health insurance policies will have to submit their proposed
rates for the following year to the Insurance Department, which will
post those flings on its website. After a 30-day public comment period,
the department will either approve, modify or reject the proposed rate
changes.
The bill also calls on the department to publish an annual report on
health insurance coverage, affordability and cost trends in Illinois,
including such things as cost trends by major service category,
including prescription drugs; utilization patterns by major service
category; the impact of benefit changes; enrollment trends; and
demographic shifts.
State Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, said during a separate interview
before the bill signing that those changes will make the pricing of
health insurance more transparent to consumers and give regulators the
ability to determine whether consumers are being overcharged.
“The insurance industry, they file their plans with the Department of
Insurance, and although the department goes through the actuarial
process, they can't reject a rate,” she said.
Under the new law, she said, regulators will be able to reject rates
that are unreasonably high as well as rates that are so low that they
could put the insurance company in financial risk.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news
service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of
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Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along
with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and
Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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