Illinois legislature passes bill to limit cost of inhalers to $25 a month

The Illinois legislature has passed a bill that would cap patient costs for prescription inhalers at $25 a month.

The bill’s passage follows years of outcry from patients with asthma and other lung conditions over the cost of inhalers, which can be hundreds of dollars a month.

“It is cost prohibitive,” said Rep. Laura Faver Dias, D-Grayslake, House sponsor of the bill, during floor debate Wednesday. “When the (patient) is paying out-of-pocket co-pays at such a high rate they don’t adhere to their treatment plan because they cannot afford it, and then we see them ending up in the ER more.”

The bill passed the House 87-21 on Wednesday, and now moves to the governor for his signature. When asked whether the governor plans to sign the bill, a spokesperson for Gov. J.B. Pritzer’s office said in an email Thursday that he “will give it a careful review” once it reaches his desk.

No insurance industry group opposed the bill, but some Republican lawmakers spoke against it during floor debate, before it passed.

“Somebody is now paying for that,” said Rep. William Hauter, R-Morton. “You don’t think the insurance company is eating that. … Everyone else in the plan is now paying a higher premium.”

The bill would not apply to all insurance plans, only those regulated by the state. Many large employers have plans that are regulated by the federal government.

The bill’s advocates praised its passage this week, saying it will make a difference for patients, especially those from low-income communities of color, which are disproportionately affected by asthma.

“This just changes the whole game in my opinion,” said Erica Salem, senior director of strategy, programs and policy at the Respiratory Health Association, which helped work on the bill. “It makes everything so much more affordable and it will save the state millions.”

Mia Fritsch-Anderson said the bill could help her for years to come. Fritsch-Anderson, who recently finished her freshman year of college at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was diagnosed with severe asthma when she was a year old. She estimates that her family now spends about $6,000 a year on inhalers.

“It’s a heavy price and that’s something everyone with asthma has to deal with, so it’s really amazing they’re able to cap it at $25 now,” said Fritsch-Anderson, a volunteer patient advocate with Respiratory Health Association. “It’s going to help a lot of families afford this medication.”

Minnesota and New Jersey have passed similar legislation, Faver Dias said.

The bill also comes after several major manufacturers of inhalers pledged earlier this year to cap out-of-pocket costs for inhalers at $35 a month, starting in June and early next year. Those pledges came several months after a U.S. Senate committee launched an investigation into the costs of inhalers in the U.S.

If the governor signs the bill, it would go into effect in January 2026.

Chicago Tribune’s Olivia Stevens contributed.