SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt supported a major pharmacy reform bill that protects patient access to pharmacies and lowers prescription drug prices.

“Pharmacy middlemen have been jacking up prices without any repercussion for years,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “This new law will help lower costs of prescription drugs by ending greedy tactics used by pharmacy benefit managers.”

House Bill 1697, the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, targets pharmacy benefit managers – entities that manage prescription drug benefits for insurers. The new law ends harmful practices such as “spread pricing,” where pharmacy benefit managers profit by charging insurers significantly more than what pharmacies receive. It also restricts PBMs from profiting from the sale of drugs to pharmacies, and requires them to return 100% of pharmacy rebates back to the individuals or sponsoring organizations. It will also prevent pharmacy benefit managers from unfairly steering patients toward particular pharmacies and stops PBMs from limiting an individual’s access to a drug from a pharmacy by classifying it as a “specialty drug.”

“We’re doing what we can in Illinois to fight back against high costs,” said Belt. “Families shouldn’t have to choose between groceries and their prescriptions.”

House Bill 1697 was signed into law last month and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026.