Carroll-Supported Law Streamlining Prescription Process, Medical Coverage Soon in Effect

​NORTHBROOK, Ill. – A new law backed by state Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, slashing red tape around prescriptions and streamlining pharmacy proceedures will go into effect at the beginning of January.

“The pharmaceutical companies and insurance providers are stopping up our health care system with costly paperwork that does nothing but hike costs and increase patients’ wait times for critical medications,” Carroll said. “Getting medication should be a fast, affordable and stress-free procedure, not a difficult process that forces sick patients to wait while they endure symptoms of a serious illness.”

Carroll worked to pass House Bill 2160, which requires the Department of Insurance (DOI) and the Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) to develop simple, uniform authorization forms for prescription drugs, which providers and insurers must use. There are currently numerous unique authorization forms necessary for every specific insurer. Beginning in January, all forms will be combined into one for commercial insurers and one for managed care organizations. The bill received bipartisan support and is now law.

“Reforming health care to make it more affordable and quickly accessible is a critical step toward building a stronger Illinois,” Carroll said. “Patients are the focus of a good medical system, not profits. Right now, pharmaceutical companies are only focused on their bottom line; this law is one of many I supported to make sure that changes.”