* Capitol News Illinois…

A bill to strengthen privacy protections for transgender and abortion patients passed a Senate committee Wednesday in a 9-4 partisan vote.

Senate Bill 4834, would remove testosterone from the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program, which otherwise exists to protect against misuse of addictive controlled substances. It would also prohibit the Department of Human Services from adding estrogen, abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol, and drugs commonly referred to as hormone suppressants to the program. […]

SB 4834 would also purge IDHS records of the prescribing or dispensing of testosterone. That information would still be part of a patient’s medical records.

State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, the sponsor of the bill, said medical privacy is an essential right to protect. […]

The bill also protects abortion patients’ access to abortion medication — both mifepristone and misoprostol. Those drugs are not considered controlled substances, but Louisiana in 2024 reclassified them as such so the state could restrict patients from obtaining the pills for abortions. The bill preempts potential similar action in Illinois.

* Former editor of Modern Healthcare Merrill Goozner…

Progressive legislators in a few states (like my home state of Illinois) are pushing bills that almost exactly replicate the Maryland model. Yesterday, the Illinois Senate Appropriations - Health Committee held a first hearing on a bill sponsored by Sen. Lakesia Collins with co-sponsors Graciela Guzman, Javier L. Cervantes, Mary Edly-Allen, and Rachel Ventura, all Democrats from Chicago and its northern suburbs.

I presented testimony in favor of the bill. I was limited to three minutes. Here are my remarks:

Good evening, Chairman Aquino and members of the committee:

I am Merrill Goozner, the former editor of Modern Healthcare, a former Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business reporter, who now write a newsletter on health care issues with over 13,000 subscribers.

The first section of Senate Bill 3900 offers a comprehensive payment reform program that puts hospitals on budgets and equalizes pricing for commercial payers. It is that section of the bill I wish to address today.

This payment program is about affordability. It has demonstrated that it can bring health care costs under control without jeopardizing patients. In fact, it sets the stage for creating a better health care system by detaching funding from how much sick care is provided.

One state has led the way. Maryland is the only state in the country with a system like the one outlined in SB3900. Since fully implementing the system in 2014, Maryland’s hospital use of unnecessary services – both in-patient and out-patient – grew more slowly than the rest of the nation, even as key quality measures improved. It has saved payers, both public and private, billions of dollars. The state’s 30-day readmission and preventable admission rates were significantly reduced compared to other states.

Why has the Maryland system been so effective?

- Equalizing commercial pricing, where every insurer pays the same price for the same service at any individual hospital, substantially reduces wasteful administrative costs for both hospitals and insurers, which reduces spending and frees up dollars for clinical care.
- Putting providers on budgets empowers hospitals and providers to deploy their resources more effectively. When they are not dependent on the volume of services delivered, they have the freedom to invest more on prevention, primary care, care coordination, behavioral health, and community outreach. These are key to better health. All are woefully underfunded. This investment will not only improve overall population health, it is key to achieving the long-term cost control that patients, consumers, employers and taxpayers want and need.
- Global budgets, if appropriately adjusted for special needs, will stabilize financing for the state’s struggling safety net, community and rural hospitals; and
- For employers, who finance about three-fourths of private health insurance, it will lay the groundwork for making the system fairer, one where employers with older and sicker workers are not forced to pay an oversized share of the state’s total health care bill.

SB3900 is a long-term cost control program. The equal pricing system, when coupled with global budgets that grow more slowly than the rest of the economy, will allow state regulators over time to bring commercial prices more in line with Medicare pricing. This will reduce the growth rate in employers’ and employees’ premiums. It will leave more money in peoples’ paychecks. It will lower employers’ costs, and therefore, make Illinois more competitive.

We live in a time when people are looking for bold solutions to pressing problems. Passing this legislation will put Illinois in the forefront of how to deal with the nation’s health care affordability crisis. I hope you will give it serious consideration.

* WAND…

A plan moving in the Illinois Senate could increase the fine for people driving around school buses using the extended stop arm.

Drivers stopped by police for ignoring school bus safety arms are currently fined a minimum of $300 and have their driver’s license suspended for six months. Illinois school districts can also currently choose to install stop arm safety technology, but the fine for drivers is capped at $150.

House Bill 3175 would create a uniform $300 fine for the first offense and $1,000 for a second or subsequent violation. […]

The proposal passed out of the Senate Executive Committee on an 11-2 vote and now heads to the Senate floor. This bill gained unanimous support in the House last year.

* Center Square…

Illinoisans may soon be required to register their e-bikes, motorized scooters and other various modes of transport with the DMV if a popular piece of legislation in Springfield passes.

Having bipartisan support, the Illinois Secretary of State said there would also be new regulations, age requirements, and fees associated with using the devices.

Senate Bill 3336, an initiative backed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, would require a person to be at least 16 years old, licensed to drive, and to register certain electric micromobility devices with the state before they can legally be operated. […]

The measure passed the state Senate unanimously earlier this month, and is scheduled to be taken up by the House early next week. The bill has a total of 25 co-sponsors in the House, including 11 Republicans.

* WAND…

Sponsors and advocates told WAND News Thursday it is past time to ban the [paraquat], as there are currently 41,000 people living with Parkinson’s in Illinois.

“Research shows that people who handle paraquat are two-and-a-half times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease,” said Grant Niver, a senior state government relations manager with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. “Even those just living or working near treated fields also experience significantly increased risk for Parkinson’s disease. This impacts not only farmers and farm workers but rural communities across Illinois.”

Senate Bill 3161 would ban paraquat beginning Jan. 1, 2027. However, the Illinois Department of Agriculture would be allowed to give exceptions for using the pesticide for research under strict safety and reporting protocols. […]

“You’ve had both Democrat and Republican presidents for the last 30-40 years that this product has been used and, in your viewpoint, has been causing harm,” said Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport). “If it’s not being banned or significantly reduced, that’s because it’s disputed science.” […]

Senate Bill 3161 is currently locked in the Senate Assignments Committee, but [Sen. Laura Ellman] hopes to move the proposal next year.

* Sen. Robert Peters…

To address safety gaps and prioritize continuous protection for victims in Illinois’ justice system, State Senator Robert Peters is spearheading a measure to secure petitioning eligibility for restraining orders during criminal proceedings. […]

Peters’ measure would build on the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, which currently prohibits orders of protection from being denied solely based on the incarceration status of either the petitioner or the respondent, ensuring the logistical timing of incarceration does not outweigh victims’ access to legal protections.

The proposal would codify IDVA procedure in Illinois criminal law to account for orders of protection issued during criminal proceedings – reducing victim trauma and streamlining justice by directly tying civil protection policies to criminal cases.

“This bill would make enforcement of order violations more direct than in civil court, sending a clear message that Illinois will stand up for victims and act swiftly to bring perpetrators to justice,” Peters said.

House Bill 4741 passed the Senate Executive Committee Wednesday and heads to the full Senate for further consideration.