Rare Bipartisan Agreement on ‘Charlie’s Law’

State government came to the living room of a home on a tree lined street in Lombard Tuesday morning. It was a rare scene — lawmakers from both sides of the aisle crowded around a kitchen table as Governor Bruce Rauner signed "Charlie's Law."

What is a common illness can turn into a catastrophic brain disease. Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal virus, or PANDAS, affects one in 200 children. It can be treated and cured with a series of intravenous antibiotics, but until now insurance didn’t cover the $12,000 cost.

Photo Credit: Brian O'Keefe/WDCB

State Representative Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) authored legislation to require coverage. Governor Bruce Rauner signed it into law this morning in Lombard. Conroy says it was a hard fight.

"The insurance companies were not in support of this," Conroy said. "We fought them tooth and nail all the way through, and it was because of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and these families, that we educated everybody about what this actually meant to families, and that is why we passed this."

Rauner says this new law puts Illinois at the forefront of care for children.

"Illinois will now be the first state in America to have insurance coverage for this vicious disease," Rauner said.

The measure passed both chambers of the General Assembly with unanimous support.