New Illinois laws physicians and practice managers need to know in 2026

The Illinois State Medical Society's 2026 Legislative Report shows a busy spring in Springfield for anyone who runs or manages a physician practice in the state. Illinois lawmakers passed a ban on automated downcoding of medical claims, tightened timelines for workers' compensation utilization review, extended the state's Medical Practice Act with a new records-retention rule, and revised requirements for checking the state's prescription monitoring program. There were a handful of licensing and scope-of-practice fights that didn't make it into law this year but could resurface. These changes touch billing, staffing, compliance and continuing education directly for physicians, practice administrators and office managers. The following slides walk through 18 of the most consequential bills from the session, touching on day-to-day practice operations, licensing and continuing education, then broader health care policy.