Governor JB Pritzker announces that Alzheimer’s treatment will be covered for state employees with state insurance. This will include dependances under the insurance. This bill mandates that the State Employees Group Insurance Program cover all FDA-approved treatments and medications that slow the disease.
Three Alzheimer’s medications are FDA-approved.
Illinois is the first state to sign a bill of this kind. The bill will prohibit step therapy, which is used to delay the diagnosis and can make the preventative treatment ineffective. The bill will require coverage for diagnostic imaging and tests that are necessary to confirm Alzheimer’s.
Dave Olsen, Director of State Affairs for the Alzheimer’s Association Illinois Chapter, says the bill is going to help in numerous ways. “We're also very excited to see continued progress on the research front as, you know, new treatments come along and new medications that continue this progress. So, all in all, this is, I think, a really exciting thing in Illinois. We should be really proud of it.”
The bill was passed unanimously. The bill will go into effect in July 2025.