Illinois has expanded access to mental health care following a legislative victory won through a grassroots campaign. On December 12, 2025, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1085 into law, expanding access to mental health care for about 2.5 million people in the state. The bill requires private insurers to pay mental health and substance abuse treatment providers fairly and more in line with physical health care, aiming to end “ghost networks”—lists of providers that are not actually available to take patients—and increase the number of therapists working in Illinois.
The three-year grassroots organizing campaign united patients and health care providers to take on the power of the health insurance industry. The People’s Lobby joined People’s Action’s “Care Over Cost” campaign and decided to support HB 1085 after members faced significant barriers to accessing quality mental health care. Lead sponsor Illinois State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, who holds a Master of Social Work and worked as a social worker for years, crafted the legislative approach with State Sen. Karina Villa, who also holds an MSW. Behavioral health policy experts like Heather O’Donnell relying on data from Milliman and the Research Triangle Institute enumerated disparities in pay between providers of physical and mental health care.
Critical to the campaign’s success were therapist testimonies: many therapists reported not receiving real raises in a decade, forcing them to stop accepting insurance, take on unsustainable patient loads, or leave the profession. For years, insurance companies required therapists to sign non-disclosure agreements preventing discussion of pay. Patient leadership proved equally important; citizens described searching “ghost networks” for months before finding care, being forced to pay out-of-pocket, or going without treatment. Organizers held seven town halls throughout Chicago and suburbs, made seven trips to the state capitol, made 20 additional legislative district visits, and sent more than 7,000 letters during the final campaign year. HB 1085 builds on other recent Illinois health care reforms including rate review (taking full effect in 2026) and the Healthcare Protection Act (passed 2024).
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://truthout.org/articles/illinois-had-massive-gaps-in-mental-health-coverage-we-organized-to-fix-it/