Pritzker signs bills expanding LGBTQ+ privacy, health care protections in Illinois

FOX23 News at 9 p.m

CHICAGO, Ill., (KBSI) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed three bills into law Sunday aimed at expanding privacy protections and health care access for LGBTQ+ residents ahead of the Chicago Pride Parade.

The legislation addresses medical privacy, access to hormone therapy and gender markers on Illinois driver’s licenses and state identification cards.

House Bill 4834 removes testosterone from the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program and prohibits estrogen and several other medications from being added to the database in the future.

The measure took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

House Bill 5095 codifies Illinois’ existing process for selecting a gender marker on driver’s licenses and state identification cards while ensuring that information remains confidential. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

House Bill 5492 requires insurance companies to cover up to six months of prescribed hormone therapy when medically appropriate. That measure also takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Pritzker said the legislation continues Illinois’ efforts to protect the privacy and health care access of LGBTQ+ residents across the state.