Illinois lawmakers miss chance to improve healthcare access by joining interstate compacts
Licensed practical nurses and physician assistants remain held back by red tape, making it harder for them to work where they are needed.
Illinois lawmakers this spring failed to pass two bills to make it easier for nurses and physician assistants to work in the state.
The inaction also potentially risks millions of dollars in federal funding.
House Bill 4369 would have made Illinois a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact, allowing nurses licensed elsewhere to work in the state.
Illinois needs nurses. While data shows the state has more than enough registered nurses to meet demand this year, there’s a shortage of almost 12,000 licensed practical nurses. Enacting HB 4369 would have encouraged licensed practical nurses to migrate to Illinois and helped combat the gap between supply and demand.
HB 4369 faced union opposition. The Illinois Nurses Association said joining it would break high Illinois standards for continuing education. However, the bill addressed that concern directly by making a continuing education requirement apply to all nurses working in Illinois.
Senate Bill 3074 would have allowed physician assistants licensed in other states to practice in Illinois, adding the state to the PA Compact one year after the bill taking effect. Illinois is short 470 PAs.
There is fiscal pressure to join these compacts: Illinois committed to the moves in an application for funding that has awarded the state $193.4 million annually for the next five years under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. The commitment to the compacts had only a small weight in Illinois score, but failing to meet the pledge would result in the state having to pay back likely millions of the money.
Together, HB 4369 and SB 3074 would have moved Illinois closer to the national trend. The nursing compact comprises 43 jurisdictions, including Democrat-led states such as Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The PA Compact has 25 member states.
Lawmakers often see regulations as a way to protect patients and thus fail to expand access to care. The licensing compacts do both. HB 4369 and SB 3074 were missed opportunities to provide quality access to care and boost the number of LPNs and Pas in Illinois.