SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — Illinois took a major step to lower drug prices Friday, as Gov. JB Pritzker signed a plan into law to regulate 340B contracts. 

The 340B drug pricing program was created in 1992 to improve access to care at safety-net hospitals and clinics. It helps low-income and uninsured patients get critical medications, but state hospital leaders believe Big Pharma has limited access to medications, as 340Bs can only sign one pharmaceutical contract.

This bipartisan law will stop companies from setting restrictions on contracts unless the limit is required by state or federal law.

"During a time when the federal government is cutting funding for healthcare for families across the state, we should be doing everything we can to bring vital resources to support patients and their healthcare providers, resources like 340B that cost nothing to taxpayers of the state of Illinois," said Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin). 

Pritzker also signed a bill requiring audits of the 340B program to better understand how much money healthcare facilities are earning and how those funds are used.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said Congress created the 340B program to help low-income and uninsured patients access medicines, but there is little evidence that patients are benefiting. PhRMA stressed that large tax-exempt hospitals and their for-profit partners are exploiting the program, buying medicines at steep discounts and then marking them up by thousands of dollars.

"Across the country and here in Illinois, 340B is driving up costs for patients, taxpayers and employers instead of ensuring that these savings reach those who need them most," said PhRMA Senior Director of Public Affairs Will May. "PhRMA will continue working with policymakers to advance solutions that protect patients." 

House Bill 2371 passed out of the House on a 113-1 vote. The measure received unanimous support in the Senate. House Bill 4327 passed unanimously out of the Senate and received a 106-8 vote in the House. 

"Governor Pritzker has once again shown that he understands what community health centers mean to the people of Illinois. At a time when so much about the future of healthcare feels uncertain, his willingness to act gives our health centers and the patients they serve a real measure of stability," said Illinois Primary Health Care Association President and CEO Ollie Idowu. "By signing these bills, the Governor is standing with the patients who have the fewest options and the providers who show up for them every single day."

Both laws took effect Friday. 

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