A new senate bill in Illinois would prohibit vision care plans from requiring a provider to provide services at a fee set by the vision care plan unless the services are in-network and covered under the plan.

It would also require providers to disclose any business interests they have with an out-of-network source or supplier they recommended to a patient and offer in-network sources instead per a patient’s request. 

The legislation aims to lessen referrals to out-of-network vision care providers and to give patients more flexibility when choosing services, according to a May 5 news release from Illinois Senate Democrats.

The bill passed the state’s Senate May 4.