Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced plans to waive licensing fees for frontline health care workers during fiscal years 2023 and 2024. While it’s welcome news that renewals and new applications will come at no cost for Physicians, Registered Nurses and more, health care facilities responsible for managing those renewals can find themselves overburdened. Outsourcing licensing and other provider maintenance tasks to a third party allows administrative staff to focus on higher level tasks instead of tracking license renewals across several disciplines and multiple states.
Key Takeaways:
- Illinois is offering a one-time fee waiver for initial and/or renewal licensure applications for eligible health care professionals
- Illinois Physicians licensure will expire July 31, 2023
- If Physician licensure renewal is completed before the renewal deadline of July 31, 2023 there will be no application fee
- Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses initial and endorsement applications submitted prior to June 30, 2023 will not be charged an application fee
- Physician Assistants submitting an application for initial, endorsement or restoration license between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 will not be charged an application fee
- Physician Assistants next licensure renewal deadline will be March 1, 2024 and those who submit their renewals prior to the deadline will have their application fees waived
Illinois Licensing Renewal Fees Waived for Multiple Medical Disciplines
All Illinois Physician licensure will expire July 31, 2023. Physicians will be able to renew with no fee provided the renewal is completed prior to the renewal deadline of July 31, 2023. Physicians renewing after the deadline will be subject to the renewal fee and a late fee. Physicians with Illinois controlled substance registrations will also renew these registrations at no charge during this period.
New Illinois Licensure Applications Also Benefit from Waived Fees
Frontline health care workers who apply for initial licensure and endorsements between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024 will not pay an application fee. Eligible health care professionals previously licensed in Illinois can apply for restoration of their Illinois license without a fee during the same period. Restoration of Illinois licensure is often costly. The waiver of restoration application fees may attract eligible health care professionals who would otherwise not return to practice in Illinois an incentive to do so.
Other Health Care Professionals Impacted by Waived Fees
Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses were able to renew their licenses last year without paying a fee during the variance renewal window. Professions who apply for initial licensure prior to June 30, 2023 will not pay an application fee for any of the following license types:
- Registered Nurses,
- APRNs,
- APRN Controlled Substance,
- Full Practice APNs,
- Full Practice APN Controlled Substance,
The one-time Illinois licensure fee waiver applies to each eligible license a provider holds, compounding the license holder’s savings. These waivers provide a significant cost savings opportunity to providers, group practices, and health care systems who license providers in Illinois. Managing multiple renewals for health care professionals in house, especially those like Nurse Practitioners who hold several licenses that are covered by the waiver, can be complex and vulnerable to mistakes.
For further details regarding the fee waivers for these and other professions, please utilize the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s fee waiver FAQ. For additional information on Illinois licensure requirements, please visit the Division of Professional Regulation’s website.
Advantages of Anders Health Care Advisory Licensure Services
Anders health care advisors stay up to date on each state’s medical/professional (APRN, PA, LCSW, etc.) license requirements. We understand the time it takes to complete the complex and tedious application processes along with the need to expedite and streamline the approach for our clients. Providing fast, accurate completion of your licensure application along with rapid processing of your credential verification requests is our number one priority.
Anders Health Care advisors are experienced in managing all professional licensing needs including state medical or professional licensure (all 50 states), controlled substance registration and DEA registration. Learn more about the services our advisors can provide along with the associated fees by contacting Anders below.
