SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois families will have access to better and more affordable health care coverage under new laws backed by state Rep. Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, aiming to reduce costs and hold big insurance companies accountable.

“The Healthcare Protection Act brings groundbreaking changes to our healthcare system. By eliminating junk insurance, abolishing step therapy and prior authorization for mental health, tackling ghost networks, and reducing insurance premiums to make healthcare better and more affordable, we will significantly enhance healthcare in Illinois,” said Hirschauer. “This is a pivotal moment for healthcare equity, setting a new standard for future improvements to ensure a healthier Illinois.”

The Hirschauer-backed House Bill 5395 and House Bill 2499 were signed into law Wednesday, delivering a series of major reforms to make health care coverage better and more affordable. The new Health Care Protection Act would create a rate review process requiring insurance companies to justify premium increases, and empowering state watchdogs to reject unwarranted hikes that simply pad profits.

Additionally, the measure curbs gimmicks insurance companies use to deny access to medically necessary treatments, procedures, and prescription medications, including step therapy—where insurance companies require a patient to ‘try and fail’ with cheap, ineffective treatments before covering the prescribed treatment or medication. Under the Healthcare Protection Act, doctors and patients will now be empowered to make important medical decisions—not insurance companies.

These measures also stop insurance companies from selling inadequate short-term healthcare plans that provide little or no coverage.