Attorney General Kwame Raoul (Capitol News Illinois file photo) 

A consumer advocacy group continued its push last week to drum up support for legislation to establish a state board to regulate the price of many prescription drugs in Illinois. 

Citizen Action/Illinois, along with other groups, convened a town hall meeting in Rockford on Oct. 8 — the fifth in a series of such meetings the group has held since spring – to push for passage of House Bill 4472, which would establish a Health Care Availability and Access Board. 

That five-member board, appointed by the governor, would have authority to set caps on the prices paid by both insurance plans and consumers for certain high-cost drugs. 

“Right now, one in three Illinoisans, based on a poll that we commissioned earlier this year, are rationing their medication or skipping pills altogether, meaning that they’re splitting doses in half, or trying to make it stretch, not taking their medication as prescribed by their doctors, simply because they cannot afford it,” said the group’s director Anusha Thotakura. 

Joining Thotakura on Oct. 8 were Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, who represents the 17th Congressional District that includes Rockford, state Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, and Dr. Ram Krishnamoorthi, an internal medicine physician who practices in the Chicago area. 

In 2022, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress for the first time gave the Medicare program – the federal health care program for seniors – authority to negotiate prices it pays for certain high-cost drugs. Under HB 4472, those negotiated prices would become the upper payment limit for purchasers outside the Medicare program. 

The bill was introduced at the beginning of the 2024 legislative session in January by Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Palatine,. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is among its chief co-sponsors. 

No action was taken on the bill during the spring session and it has not yet been assigned to a substantive committee, but it could come up for consideration during the fall veto session, which begins Nov. 12, or in the spring. 

TikTok lawsuit 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed suit against the social media platform TikTok, alleging the app is harming children. 

The lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, claims TikTok violated Illinois’ Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, along with the Uniform Deceptive Business Practices Act. Raoul alleged TikTok uses features that are addictive and exploit young and vulnerable users by encouraging them to spend long periods of time on the platform. 

“American children and teenagers are in the grip of a devastating mental health crisis,” Raoul said in a news release. “The addictive features on TikTok’s social media platform interfere with sleep and education, and contribute to depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and thoughts of self-harm.” 

The suit seeks both injunctive relief “to prevent future violations of the Consumer Fraud Act” and monetary damages, including $50,00 for each “unfair or deceptive act or practice.” 

Raoul joined 13 other states in filing separate enforcement actions Oct. 8 against TikTok. He and other critics of the popular online social media platform have denounced its business model, as well as its impact on children. 

The Oct. 8 action follows a lawsuit Raoul’s office filed last year against Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta. Raoul’s office also joined a coalition of attorneys general last month to call for the U.S. Surgeon General to put a warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms.  

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