Chicago City Wire

State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) views Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signing of a new Medicaid omnibus bill as a first step in closing the gap in healthcare disparities between individuals all across the state.

“We are here today for Gov. Pritzker to sign the Medicaid omnibus bill,” Harris said at the bill's signing at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. “It's something we in the legislature do every year to improve healthcare for people in every corner of the state of Illinois but this will be really the first post-COVID omnibus bill and in this we've learned a lot of lessons from the last year about the inequities and disparities in communities hardest hit by COVID. Many of these are covered by Illinois Medicaid, but some of these folks were not covered at all.”

Harris said the bill is the first step in a plan “to expand coverage and access to make it more user-friendly and reduce disparities for people to get healthcare.”

“We've already signed this year ... the Black Caucus Healthcare Pillar. There will be future bill signings for Telehealth, for laws restricting insurance companies from using prior authorization to reduce access to health care and to bring down the cost of prescriptions. We've been working on this in every chamber – Senate and House – and the governor's office got through the pandemic to roll out this package.”

Among many provisions, Senate Bill 2294 paves the way for people covered under Medicaid to continue to be eligible throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency and for up to a year after the emergency expires. In addition, the measure also calls on the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to establish a program for implementation of certified community behavioral health clinics by Jan. 1, 2022, and to develop a “comprehensive behavioral health strategy” that is to be submitted to the governor and General Assembly no more than six-months later.

Other elements of the bill include classifying veteran support specialists as mental health professionals under the state’s Medicaid plan; coverage of both individual and group tobacco cessation programs, and requiring in-patient treatment for anyone experiencing an opioid overdose or withdrawal if it’s deemed to be medically necessary.

“It will expand the ability of the Medicaid program to pay marriage and family therapists,” Harris said. “It will allow Medicaid to pay for long-lasting injectable and substance abuse drugs. It will add coverage for chiropractic services and allow access to smoking cessation programs and anti-smoking drugs. ... it does things that may seem small to some of us but it's huge to those for whom it matters. This is part of reimagining healthcare and tearing down the barriers to make access easier and healthcare more affordable.”