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Wednesday • March 22 • 2023
Spring THINK
FIRST DAY OF SPRING MARCH 10TH
Pritzker signs measure guaranteeing five days paid leave for Illinoisans By NIKA SCHOONOVER Capitol News Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 208 into law Monday, ensuring at least 40 hours of paid leave for Illinois workers. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, workers will begin to earn paid leave on their first day at a rate of one hour of leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours of paid leave for the year. Employees can begin using their paid leave either 90 days after their employment begins or 90 days after the act’s effective date. “Today we will become the third state in the nation to require paid time off and the first among the largest states,” Pritzker said in a Monday news conference. “I’m exceptionally proud that labor and business came together to recognize the value of this requirement to employees and employers alike.” The measure passed in both chambers earlier this year during the 102nd General Assembly’s lame duck session. Prior to the act’s effective date, Illinois workers have not been guaranteed paid time off for sick leave, child care, medical appointments or any other reason. “About 4 million workers…in Illinois do not have access to even a single sick day,” said state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, who carried the bill in the Senate. The measure has been under negotiation since 2019 and has “changed hands” a number of times since its inception, Lightford said. Lightford, who is the Senate’s majority leader, acknowledged former state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who served from 2009 until 2019 and was an original carrier of the bill. “This is an issue that has been lingering around the General
Assembly for far too long,” Lightford said. “I’m really glad it landed in my lap when it came over to the Senate.” When SB 208 was debated on the floor in January, one key point of opposition was that it would burden small businesses by raising costs. “My major concern are the little guys. It’s the mom-and-pops that have 5, 10, maybe 13 employees, that this has a significant impact on their budgets,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said on the House floor. Pritzker pushed back against this sentiment at the bill signing ceremony. “Just like bigger businesses, small businesses want their workers to be more productive, to be able to deal with their stresses, emergencies at home, so they can be better and more productive at work,” Pritzker said. “I want to encourage anybody who’s concerned about that to look at, and remind the workers who work for them, how important it is that we have a law like that that protects workers in the state of Illinois.” The measure does not apply to employees subject to collectively bargained contracts, because time off would be subject to negotiations between the union and the employer. Ultimately, the measure received a few Republican votes in the House but passed the Senate with only Democratic support. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide, as well as hundreds of radio and TV stations. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
State lawmakers closer to bridging gaps in coverage for dental procedures As president of the Illinois State Dental Society and a pediatric dentist, I am thrilled to see that dental insurance reform legislation is gaining traction in Illinois. With key reforms passing Illinois House and Senate committees in recent weeks, we are one step closer to providing our patients and their families with the dental coverage they need and deserve. One of the most frustrating challenges our patients and families face is limited and sporadic dental insurance coverage. Many are often surprised at the amount they are required to pay out of pocket, and this can be especially true for children with various oral health treatment needs. We often see insurance simply will not cover services that are widely accepted as the standard of care. I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of limited dental insurance coverage on our patients and their families. Recently, I had a young patient who required work on 12 teeth, but his insurance would not cover general anesthesia. As a result, he had to endure four visits, and each time both the boy and his mom struggled in tears. It was heart-wrenching for him, his family, and our staff, who could see the emotional toll it was taking on everyone involved. Dental insurance barriers like this are not just an issue of inconvenience; they can have a real and lasting impact on our patients’ health and quality of life. Limited dental insurance coverage has had a detrimental impact on patients and their families for far too long, especially for those who cannot afford high out-of-pocket costs. Necessary procedures are often not covered or are severely restricted, leaving patients to shoulder the burden of costly out-of-pocket expenses or delay critical oral care. All the while, dental insurance companies continue
to go unchecked, with up to 40 percent of patient premiums going toward administrative costs that include extravagant marketing and executive bonuses. This is why the Illinois State Dental Society has launched the More for Your Smile campaign, which advocates for reforms that remove barriers to care and ensure that patients and employers get better value for their money. The legislation removes barriers to care by requiring dental insurance companies to direct at least 80% of patient premiums toward patient care, ensuring patients and employers will get better value for their money, and that outof-pocket costs are reduced. It also puts an end to schemes used by big insurance companies to gain additional revenue streams that hurt dentists’ abilities to maintain financially healthy practices and ultimately impact patient access to care. The solution is clear. More patient premium dollars should go toward patient care, not insurance companies. I am encouraged that lawmakers in Springfield are considering reforms that could make a real difference in the lives of patients across our state. Patients can join these efforts to help give children and families better access to the dental care they need and deserve by contacting their lawmakers and urging them to support More for Your Smile legislation. Help us send the right message to big dental insurance executives: It’s time to put patients first and ensure that dental insurance coverage meets their needs, not the needs of insurance company profits. Dr. Kenneth G. Rawson is president of the Illinois State Dental Society.
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