Carroll-Supported Legislation Streamlining Critical Prescription-Filling Process Now Law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, backed a new law to ensure lifesaving prescriptions are available quickly by cutting insurance industry bureaucracy and streamlining filling proceedures.

“It’s passed time we streamline the process pharmacies use to get prescriptions. Massive insurance companies have put up so much red tape that patients have to get around, it is putting some people with serious illnesses in real danger,” Carroll said. “If you or someone in your family is battling a debilitating allergy attack, working with pharmacists to fill out a stack of forms isn’t an option. We need a simple system that gets people what they need quickly and safely.”

Caroll passed 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; Carroll’s new law combines those forms into one for commercial insurers and one for managed care organizations. The bill received strong bipartisan support and is now law.

“All this bureaucracy is expensive and the costs get passed on to patients,” Carroll said. “Our community deserves more affordable health care, not a bloated system that exists to boost the bottom line of insurance companies.”