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Mandates

A physician’s education is extensive, as well as extremely competitive, with many years of both medical school and clinical training being required to hone their skills and expertise. To maintain their license, physicians are required to take 150 hours of continuing medical education (CME) every three years – with additional requirements for various specialties. Moreover, they are healthcare and community leaders who work long hours to serve their communities.

Each year, ISMS pushes back against hundreds of onerous mandates on how physicians should practice medicine in Illinois. However, non-physicians and other parties often try to regulate the medical profession by passing onerous and time-consuming mandates on physicians. These mandates are often applied broadly, are not evidence based, and place an increasingly heavy burden on the shoulders of physicians.

To see ISMS’ specific work on issues related to mandates, please view our legislative reports.

Currently Tracked Bills

ISMS Supports

Electronic Prescribing Exemptions: HB 4874 and SB 3304 (Sponsors: Rep. Dagmara Avelar, Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton) - On August 20, 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law a mandate that prescriptions for controlled substances be prescribed electronically with an effective date of January 1, 2023. In 2023, Public Act 103-0425 was passed to codify waivers to the mandate and clarify the role of dispensers to ensure that patients would not go without essential medical care. Since the new state mandate took effect this year, some patients have not been able to properly access their medications because numerous pharmacies have refused to fill paper prescriptions from prescribers who meet the criteria for a waiver. HB 4874 maintains the intent of the underlying law but ensures that patients’ needs and prescriptions are put first. HB 4874 has passed House Commitee. SB 3304 remains in Senate Assignments.

Addressing Dosage Limits in Substance Abuse Care: SB 3741 (Sponsor: Sen. Julie Morrison) - Currently, Illinois’ Medicaid program requires prior authorization for any prescription of buprenorphine prescribed above a threshold of 24mg per day for non-pregnant persons. This does not accurately reflect the magnitude of the present-day fentanyl-driven opioid crisis. The opioids driving the current epidemic are orders of magnitude greater in potency than those for which the research base of the FDA labeling was established. SB 3741 removes those limitations and thresholds and allows patients suffering from opioid use disorder to access the treatments they need to fully recover. This bill has passed the Senate and now moves to the House.

ISMS Opposes

Expansion of the Mandate to Check the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP): SB 3701 (Sponsor: Sen. Laura Ellman) - SB 3701 expands mandate that prescribers have to check the Prescription Monitoring Program from Schedule II opioids to all controlled substances. The bill also makes registering for the program a prerequisite of a controlled substance license. Currently healthcare professionals continue to see delays in licensure and with this it would only lead to greater delays. The expansion to all scheduled drugs would be very time consuming and move away from the original intent of tracking opioids. The bill passed Senate Committee but remains on the Senate floor for further discussion.

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