Medical Billing Services in Illinois
Illinois' telehealth parity law dates to 2021, not 2025 — and the state's Medicaid managed care roster is about to change as a new MCO phases in through January 2027.
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Telehealth payment parity: the real date is 2021
Illinois made mental health and substance use disorder telehealth payment parity permanent under Public Act 102-0104 (HB 3308), signed July 22, 2021, amending 215 ILCS 5/356z.22. The same law authorized broader telehealth coverage through 2027. This is not a 2025 law — billing or marketing content that cites "2025 telehealth parity" in Illinois is referencing the wrong year and should be corrected.
What actually happened in 2025: a reimbursement floor, not parity
A separate 2025 law, Public Act 104-0446 (HB 1085), signed December 12, 2025, amends 215 ILCS 5/370c.4 to set a commercial reimbursement floor for mental health/SUD services at 141.7% of the Medicare fee-for-service allowed amount. This is a minimum-rate mechanism, not a payment-parity requirement, and applies to a different statutory section than the 2021 parity law. Don't conflate the two when describing Illinois telehealth or behavioral-health billing rules.
HealthChoice Illinois managed care — incumbents and an incoming change
Current 2026 HealthChoice Illinois incumbent plans include Aetna Better Health of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois (Centene), Molina Healthcare of Illinois, and CountyCare Health Plan (Cook County only).
Time-sensitive: Humana was newly awarded a statewide HealthChoice Illinois contract in the June 2026 procurement cycle, alongside renewed awards to the incumbents above. Humana's plan does not go live until January 2027 — until then, it is not part of the active roster a claim should be billed against. Confirm which roster (current vs. incoming) applies before publishing or billing against it.
Keeping telehealth claims and MCO enrollment correct depends on accurate coding and charge entry and eligibility verification. A billing audit can surface telehealth claims billed under the wrong parity assumption or the wrong MCO.
Last verified: November 2026
Frequently asked questions
No — the parity law is Public Act 102-0104, signed July 22, 2021. A separate 2025 law (PA 104-0446) sets a mental health/SUD reimbursement floor, which is a different mechanism.
141.7% of the Medicare fee-for-service allowed amount for mental health and substance use disorder services, effective from its December 12, 2025 signing.
Humana was awarded a statewide contract in June 2026 but does not go live until January 2027, so it is not yet part of the active roster.