December 28, 2020 – In most years, a raft of new laws go on the books on Jan. 1, but not this year.
With lawmakers largely on the sidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn’t spend much time in Springfield in 2020 and didn’t pass nearly as many new laws,
Typically, Illinois has hundreds of new laws coming active on the first day of the subsequent new year but the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt halt to the legislative process.
However, a handful of new laws will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
Illinois lawmakers enacted a cap on the cost of insulin at $100 per month that takes effect in 2021 but it doesn’t affect all residents. In 2018, Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that capped the cost of insulin at $100 per month. At the bill signing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the cost of insulin had become so expensive that some were splitting their doses.
“As prices have skyrocketed, more and more insulin users have been forced to substitute lower-quality product or seek options outside the country or even to ration their supply and some have died,” he said.
Supporters of the bill agreed that it was a life-or-death situation for some who couldn’t afford the growing cost.
“I think we all have stories from constituents in the districts we represent [about] out of pocket costs for insulin which is a necessary drug for those that are diabetic to stay alive,” state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said. “We are an outlier be every single metric that anyone has ever shown me and that has to be addressed.”
But, the cap doesn’t affect all insurance plans in the state, rather only those regulated by the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Self-insurance programs are not covered, since they’re federally regulated.
Also becoming active on Jan. 1 is a law allowing victims of stalking or sexual assault to protect their address confidentiality when giving information to state agencies like the Secretary of State’s office. Supporters of the program say address confidentiality could help protect victims from future assault or stalking by removing their addresses from the public record. Previously, address anonymity was reserved for victims of domestic violence.
Another law coming active at the top of the new year enables law enforcement to use updated tools to help locate missing people. House Bill 2078 allows state and local law enforcement to obtain a missing person’s DNA from an accessible source or family members, also allowing them to submit the sample for reference in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
