Have a medication that works for you but your insurer wants you to try something cheaper? A measure making its way through the Illinois General Assembly would allow you to keep using the more expensive drug.
Some insurers require a patient to use a lower cost drug and have it fail before they will pay for a more expensive one. Democratic state Sen. Julie Morrison says a measure she supports would prohibit insurers from mandating so-called step therapy in some instances.
Morrison says changing medication midstream in some instances doesn’t make sense.
“Why are we risking patient’s health if they’re already responding to a treatment that works for them?” Morrison asked.
Express Scripts, a prescription benefits manager with clients in Illinois, opposes the bill and says the measure could make it difficult to battle increasing health care costs.
