SB0069 amends several Illinois insurance-related statutes to require coverage for hippotherapy and therapeutic riding when those services are medically necessary. The bill adds a new Section 356z.80 to the Illinois Insurance Code defining hippotherapy as the use of equine movement by licensed occupational therapists, physical therapists, or speech-language pathologists, working with a horse handler and therapy horse, to promote functional outcomes. For group and individual accident and health policies issued, delivered, amended, or renewed after January 1, 2027, insurers must cover medically necessary services that include hippotherapy and other therapeutic interventions involving equine movement.
The bill also updates multiple existing provisions in the State Employees Group Insurance Act, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, and the Health Maintenance Organization Act to conform those public and private health plans to the new and existing mandated-benefit framework. These sections require coverage of post-mastectomy care and a long list of other mandated health benefits under the Illinois Insurance Code, and they specify enforcement by the Department of Insurance or the Department of Central Management Services depending on the plan type. The bill further preserves existing rules governing HMOs, including merger review, management contracts, and experience-based premium adjustments, while inserting the new equine-therapy mandate into the broader insurance code structure.
The bill expands Illinois mandated health benefits by adding coverage for hippotherapy and therapeutic riding to the Illinois Insurance Code and by incorporating that mandate into public employee, county, municipal, school, and HMO health coverage provisions. It affects insurers, HMOs, self-insured local governments, school districts, and the State Employees Group Insurance Program by requiring compliance for policies and plans renewed or issued after January 1, 2027. It also reinforces enforcement authority for the Department of Insurance and CMS and leaves existing administrative-rulemaking limits in place.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate 51-0 and the House 78-33, indicating strong overall approval, though the House vote shows a meaningful minority of dissent. No committee transcripts were provided, so the record does not show detailed debate, but the voting pattern suggests the measure was generally viewed favorably as a health-benefit expansion.
The main policy issue is the cost and scope of mandating insurance coverage for hippotherapy and therapeutic riding, especially for private insurers, HMOs, and public self-insured plans that must absorb the new benefit. Another possible point of contention is the delayed effective date for the new mandate, which may reflect concern about implementation and premium impact. The bill also touches on the balance between state-mandated benefits and local or plan-level flexibility, but the text makes clear that the coverage requirement is treated as an exclusive state function for the affected public plans.