SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler passed an initiative to prohibit price gouging of essential medication.

“Medication should be affordable for all Illinoisans,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “This legislation addresses the schemes companies will go through to churn a profit off of someone’s health.”

House Bill 3957 creates the Illinois Generic Drug Pricing Fairness Act, which would prohibit manufacturers and distributors from engaging in price gouging of essential off-patent and generic drugs.

“It’s time we hold these companies accountable for what should be considered robbery,” said Koehler. “We should not be allowing these companies to skyrocket their prices to the point people are unable to afford medication they desperately need.”

House Bill 3957 passed the Senate Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler is leading an initiative to prohibit price gouging of essential medication.

“People shouldn’t have to burn a hole in their wallets to receive the medication they need,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “This legislation will ensure that every Illinoisan has access to medication at a fair price.”

House Bill 3957 creates the Illinois Generic Drug Pricing Fairness Act, which would prohibit manufacturers and distributors from engaging in price gouging of essential off-patient and generic drugs.

“It’s time we hold these companies accountable for what should be considered robbery,” said Koehler. “Medication shouldn’t be priced at ridiculous rates to the point where people are turned away.”

House Bill 3957 passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday. It now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

SPRINGFIELD – Sexual assault awareness groups celebrated a major victory on Thursday. State Senator Dave Koehler passed a measure through the Senate to make survivors feel more comfortable receiving care by allowing them to choose to delay reporting.

“The most important thing we can do for survivors of sexual assault is make them feel safe,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “Many survivors know who assaulted them personally. By giving survivors the choice of when and how they would like to report their case to the authorities, we are giving them the ability to safely seek justice.”

Senate Bill 333 would allow survivors of sexual assault who are 13 years or older to give or refuse consent to notify the police immediately. If they refuse, the police will be notified after the patient has left the treatment location, or after 24 hours. If a sexual assault survivor does not consent to notification being made and only consents to the collection of evidence, the health care provider must make the notification in accordance with the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act. The measure would also allow the patient to protect his or her identity in the police report.

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Dave Koehler led a measure through the Senate to remove vital records fees for survivors of domestic violence.

“We should be protecting domestic violence survivors, not forcing them to pay unnecessary fees,” said Koehler (D – Peoria). “It’s our job to lend them a hand rather than ask them to pull out their wallets.”

House Bill 2841 would remove the fees associated with services of vital records done by the State Registrar for survivors of domestic violence. The fee for a search of vital records is $10 per application currently and includes the files on birth, death, and fetal death. These records can be used to dissolve marriages and civil unions, receive information on the birth of a child, unexpected miscarriages and for genealogical purposes.

“The last thing anyone wants is for these survivors to be turned away because they can’t afford these records,” said Koehler. “By eliminating these fees, we are giving survivors better access to the resources they need.”

House Bill 2841 passed the Senate Thursday.