Bill capping inhaler costs heads to Pritzker’s desk
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — The cost of inhalers for Illinois residents who use the device to help their medical conditions (like asthma or COPD) may drop dramatically due to a bill that passed both chambers of the Illinois statehouse.
The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday night to cap the costs of a single prescription inhaler to $25 a month. Illinoisans can pay anywhere from $180 to $300 for a single inhaler.
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The bill covers both rescue inhalers for people with emergencies and controller inhalers who need one regularly to manage their health.
State Rep. Laura Faver Dias (D-Grayslake), the bill’s sponsor, said this will be a big help for people with breathing conditions as their medical bills can add up fast.
“When people have asthma or COPD, there’s their emergency relief inhaler and then there is their maintenance inhaler and that maintenance inhaler and adherence to that treatment plan keeps them out of the emergency room,” Faver Dias said.
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Some lawmakers opposed to the legislation believe people will have to pay higher insurance premiums and insurance companies will drop more expensive inhalers that insurance would have covered.
“What they’re going to do is their usual tactics,” Rep. William Hauter (R-Morton) said. “And we’re all going to pay more. There’s no doubt everyone that’s a premium payer is going to pay a lot more.”
If the governor signs the bill into law, people wouldn’t see lowered inhaler costs right away. The law would go into effect January 1, 2026.
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