Photo caption: Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois
Illinois law caps the price of insulin
The price of insulin will soon be capped in Illinois after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation to address higher costs.
House Bill 2189 creates the Access to Affordable Insulin Act, which requires the Illinois Department of Insurance to offer a program that allows participants to purchase insulin at a discounted, post-rebate price.
The bill passed unanimously through the General Assembly in May and was signed into law recently.
The bill states that an insurer that provides coverage for insulin drugs shall limit the total amount that an insured person is required to pay for a 30-day supply of covered prescription insulin drugs at an amount not to exceed $35.
During the spring session, state Rep. Jenn Ladisch Douglass, D-Elmhurst, explained the measure.
“This will allow participants to purchase insulin at the state post-rebate price, allowing individuals to pay less for their insulin by utilizing the contract power of the state of Illinois,” Ladisch Douglass said.
Most of the questions about the measure revolved around what it could cost taxpayers.
“With regards to this discount program, will there be any cost associated with that to the state,” state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, asked.
Ladisch Douglass said there would be no extra costs for the program.
“The discount price charge participants will allow them to pay only what the state needs to be whole,” Ladisch Douglass said. “It costs the state nothing to engage in this program.”
The measure goes into effect on July 1, 2025.
New Illinois law closes a loophole to prevent sexual grooming of students.
This article originally appeared on The Center Square.
New Illinois law closes a loophole to prevent sexual grooming of students
By Kevin Bessler, The Center Square
A new Illinois law fortifies existing legislation aimed at preventing the sexual grooming of students by teachers and staff.
The law is named after Illinois resident Faith Colson. Colson was sexually abused by a teacher at her high school and learned years later during the course of legal proceedings that several adults within her high school suspected the inappropriate relationship but did not take action.
Faith’s Law was passed by the 102nd General Assembly as two separate pieces of legislation. The first legislation, Public Act 102-0676, took effect on Dec. 3, 2021 and, for the first time, established the definition of sexual misconduct within the School Code.
The new law closes a loophole that previously allowed teachers and school staff to have a sexual relationship with a student because the age of consent in Illinois is 17.
Tania Haigh, executive director of the nonprofit child protection organization Kids Too, said the new law also closes a loophole and addresses the possibility that an offender moves to another school.
“This really allows for the administration, the employers of the educators, to request notices of their employment history,” Haigh said.
Potential hires will also have to answer a survey regarding if they have ever been involved in any cases or allegations of sexual misconduct.
Also, if a district super-intendent has any reasonable cause to believe an employee has committed an act of sexual misconduct, the superintendent must report this information to the state superintendent of education and the regional superintendent of schools.
This article originally appeared on The Center Square.
