- Published: Thursday, July 22, 2021 01:55 PM
CHICAGO – State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D- Chicago) commends Governor JB Pritzker for signing House Bill 3308 to expand telehealth in Illinois. The new law will ensure people who have been utilizing telehealth services during the pandemic continue to have access to the care they need.
“Expanding telehealth services will remove barriers that many face when accessing the medical care they need,” Pacione-Zayas said. “The new law includes an expansion of early intervention services, which is so important in ensuring infants and toddlers receive diagnoses that can help put them on track toward healthy development.”
The law signed Thursday will maintain and expand telehealth services, which were largely used during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow people to access their doctors when they could not leave their homes. Efficient and accessible health care is paramount to creating an equitable system that allows everyone to get the care they need.
“Telehealth will not only help patients but doctors as well,” said State Senator Napoleon Harris (D-Harvey), the Senate sponsor of the legislation. “Now appointments can be more efficient when in-person visits are not needed, and disproportionately impacted community members will have access to these services, which were not equitably provided throughout the pandemic.”
Pacione-Zayas is especially proud that the legislation will include an expansion of early intervention services which are used to diagnose conditions or other factors that put infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delays. Through early intervention telehealth services, children and their parents will have easier access to therapeutic, developmental, and social-emotional services to address each child’s unique needs.
“This milestone legislation will help patients handle their health care in ways that were not available to them before the pandemic,” Pacione-Zayas said. “From allowing people to easily access care for their mental health to helping those with physical disabilities to manage their care without the stress of going to the doctor’s office, the importance of this law is far-reaching.”
The legislation signed Thursday will go into effect immediately.
