ILLINOIS PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY PASSES NEW PARITY LAW!
We are pleased to announce that HB 1530 (originally introduced by IPS and later consolidated with a similar bill introduced by the Department of Insurance) passed both the House and Senate and it is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature.  It was not easy as there was strong opposition from the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), insurers and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.  After the bill passed the House, NFIB negotiated an amendment to the bill with the Department of Insurance which would have allowed employers to choose which mental illnesses they wanted to cover setting parity back at least 15 years.  However, before the amendment was attached, we organized our allies who agreed to not only oppose the amendment, but to oppose the bill if the amendment was attached.  The lobbyist for IPS, John Potts, sprang into action and was able to put together a third Senate Amendment which returned most of the original bill with the exception of the part of the bill expanding the application of parity to employers with fewer than 50 employees.

Please contact Governor Quinn’s office to encourage him to sign the bill: http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/pages/contactthegovernor.aspx

So what does the bill do?

1. Adds substance use disorders to the list of mental illnesses covered by the current Illinois parity law.
2. Adds that medical necessity criteria with regard to substance use disorders will be determined in accordance with criteria established by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
3. Requires insurers to cover treatment for substance use disorders in residential facilities.
4. Prohibits non quantitative treatment limitations where there is no comparable med-surg limitation.

1. Lifetime limits on coverage can only be applied to mental health benefits if lifetime limits are also imposed on med-surg coverage and such lifetime limits are imposed in the same manner to mental health benefits as med-surg benefits.
2. Annual limits on coverage can only be applied to mental health benefits if annual limits are also imposed on med-surg coverage and such lifetime limits are imposed in the same manner to mental health benefits as med-surg benefits.
3. There can be only one deductible.

We appreciate the calls and letters made by IPS members who made the time and took the effort to contact their legislators to encourage them to support the bill.  We also appreciate the support of our allies:

• Illinois State Medical Society
• Illinois Department of Insurance
• Illinois Alcohol and Drug Dependence Association
• Illinois Psychological Association
• Prairie Center Health Systems, Inc.
• The Mental Health Summit
• Mental Health America Illinois
• National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter
• Illinois Association of Family Physicians
• American Academy of Pediatrics-Illinois Chapter
• Illinois Nurses Association
• Illinois Speech Language and Hearing Association
• Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois
• Lutheran Social Services Inc.
• American Association of Retired Persons
• AIDS Foundation of Chicago
• Planned Parenthood of Illinois
• Illinois Hospital Association
• SEIU Illinois Council
• Illinois Department of Human Services
• Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing
• United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois
• Illinois Osteopathic Medical Society
• Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities
• Chicago Lakeshore Hospital
• Childcare Association of Illinois
• Hazeldon
• Don Moss & Associates
• Association of Community Mental Health Authorities of Illinois

Finally, IPS would like to thank the bill’s Chief Sponsors, Representative Lou Lang and Senator William Delgado, for their persistence and determination to pass this bill.  We would also like to thank the following sponsors of the bill:

Rep. Lou Lang - Robyn Gabel - William Davis - Naomi D. Jakobsson - Fred Crespo, Dave Winters, Al Riley, Sara Feigenholtz, Mary E. Flowers, Joseph M. Lyons, Maria Antonia Berrios, Jack D. Franks, Keith Farnham, Linda Chapa LaVia, Camille Y Lilly, Cynthia Soto, Ann Williams, Elizabeth Hernandez, John D'Amico, Daniel Biss, Patrick J. Verschoore and Harry Osterman

Senate Sponsors
(Sen. William Delgado - M. Maggie Crotty - Michael Noland - Jacqueline Y. Collins - Don Harmon, Mattie Hunter, Jeffrey M. Schoenberg, Kimberly A. Lightford, Ira I. Silverstein, Antonio Muñoz, Emil Jones, III, James F. Clayborne, Jr., Gary Forby, Terry Link, Dave Syverson, Christine J. Johnson, Kwame Raoul, Iris Y. Martinez and Heather A. Steans)