Illinois Sen. Murphy’s health benefits coverage bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Laura M. Murphy seeks to mandate coverage of post-mastectomy care and other health benefits, including hippotherapy, for public entities and insurance policies in Illinois, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 72 Democrats and six Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 33 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 37 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Murphy introduced the bill in the Illinois Senate on Jan. 13, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as SB0069, was passed on May 20, 2025 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed after the effective date of the amendatory Act shall provide coverage for hippotherapy and other forms of therapeutic riding. Makes conforming changes in the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, and the Health Maintenance Organization Act.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends several sections of the Illinois statutes to mandate coverage of specific health benefits and comply with the Illinois Insurance Code. It requires that self-insured public entities, such as state employees, counties, municipalities, and schools, provide post-mastectomy care benefits and other specified coverages. Additionally, the bill mandates that a group or individual accident and health insurance policy issued or renewed after Jan. 1, 2027, offer coverage for medically necessary services including hippotherapy, which involves using equine movement as a part of therapeutic interventions by licensed therapists. The bill outlines the responsibilities of different departments for enforcing these requirements, indicating which sections they will oversee. Moreover, it includes rules on adopting regulations under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and restricts rulemaking authority if not properly enacted, with various effective dates for different amendments.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan (Democrat-58th District), Rep. Jawaharial Williams (Democrat-10th District), and Rep. Nicole La Ha (Republican-82nd District), along with four other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Murphy graduated from Illinois State University with a BS.

Murphy, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2015 to represent the state’s 28th Senate District, replacing previous state senator Dan Kotowski.