The ISMS Legislative Action Hub tracks issues, ISMS actions, and recent votes in the Illinois General Assembly of importance to Illinois physicians. If you require additional information on an issue below or on one of the numerous bills in Illinois that impact medicine, please contact State Legislative Affairs Staff at 800-782-4767.
Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the ISMS Hub and the legislative process.
For a look at federal advocacy efforts, visit the AMA Current Topics in Advocacy page.
Support 
Oppose 
Neutral
From the ISMS House of Delegates 
ISMS Initiative
97th General Assembly
A summary of ISMS' legislative activities during 2011 is now available -- CLICK HERE to view or download.
Below, please find the active issues of the 97th General Assembly. Thank you to all who contacted their legislators on the issues of importance to Illinois physicians and our patients.
Current Issues
Direct Access to Physical Therapists
Senate Bill 2821 (Sen. Martinez) would allow physical therapists to initiate patient care by removing a provision in state law that requires discipline for treating patients without first receiving a diagnosis and referral from a physician. Its passage would put patients at risk, as physical therapists do not have adequate training to make the medical diagnosis that is necessary for the initiation of appropriate treatment.
For these reasons, ISMS opposes SB 2821, which we expect to be assigned to the Senate Licensed Activities Committee.
Increase in Licensure Fees
House Bill 4071 (Rep. Flowers) would double the annual amount an Illinois physician would pay to be licensed to practice medicine. Currently, physicians are assessed a fee that covers the regulation of the profession.
Physician licensure fees are supposed to be deposited in the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Fund and used solely for the purpose of administering the Act. However, from FY03 through FY10 over $8 million was transferred from the Medical Disciplinary Fund to the General Revenue Fund (GRF) to cover state obligations that are completely unrelated to the regulation of Illinois physicians. ISMS would like to see this money returned to the Medical Disciplinary Fund.
Doubling the fees would create an excess in funds, which would no doubt be transferred out and used for general revenue purposes. For these reasons, ISMS opposes this bill and considers any effort to increase physician licensure fees as nothing but a tax on physicians to be used for state programs unrelated to disciplining and regulating the profession.
We expect HB 4071 to be assigned to the House Committee on Healthcare Availability and Access.
Network Verification
House Bill 3812 (Rep. Dan Burke) would require physicians and other health care professionals, prior to dispensing care, to verify that they are in-network under the patient’s health plan. It is not the responsibility of physicians to make the patient aware of who is in-network and who is out-of-network. Requiring them to do so is not only inappropriate, but will delay a patient’s care. Instead, it is the responsibility of the insurance companies to not only maintain adequate physician networks, but to make that information available to patients.
ISMS believes this bill would be difficult if not impossible to implement and could harm patients as care would often times have to be delayed. For these reasons, ISMS opposes this legislation, which has been assigned to the House Insurance Committee.
Tanning Facilities
House Bill 1666 would prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning facility. ISMS supports this proposal, which was assigned to the House Human Services Committee.
Direct Entry Midwives
Previous proposals would have created the Home Birth Integration Act and required Illinois hospitals to implement emergency transfer protocols for home birth patients developed in collaboration with direct entry midwives. Proponents also sought to require the Department of Public Helath and the Illinois Council of Certified Professional Midwives to jointly develop guidelines for emergency transfer protocol and require that those guidelines be communicated to the trauma center medical directors, committees and the medical directors of each EMS region. Prior proposals would also have prevented emergency health care professionals and facilities from reporting direct entry midwives to the Department of Professional Regulation. Update: ISMS was successful in containing this scope of practice expansion in 2011, but we expect the issue to arise again in upcoming weeks.
Scope of Practice - APNs
Previous proposals would have allowed advanced practice nurses (APNs) to provide the same care as family physicians, obstetricians and anesthesiologists without requiring them to meet the education and training standards that physicians are required by law to complete.
Under these proposals, APNs who meet certain conditions would have been able to submit requests to the Department of Professional Regulation to eliminate their requirements to work under a collaborative agreement and to grant them autonomous practice with full prescribing authority. Update: ISMS was successful in containing this scope of practice expansion in 2011, but we expect the issue to arise again in upcoming weeks.
Licensure of Naturopaths
Previous proposals would have licensed naturopaths and allowed them to practice medicine without receiving appropriate medical training. These proposals would have defined naturopaths as primary care physicians, granted them limited prescriptive authority and allowed them to provide obstetrical care and perform "minor office procedures." Naturopaths are currently not licensed in Illinois but wish to present themselves to the public as medical doctors. Update: ISMS was successful in containing this scope of practice expansion in 2011, but we expect the issue to arise again in upcoming weeks.