Illinois Statutes Chapter 225. Professions,Occupations and Business Operations § 62/5. Nondiscrimination

(a) It is the policy of this State that holders of M.D. degrees and D.O. degrees shall be accorded equal professional status and privileges as physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches.

(b) It is the policy of this State that allopathic and osteopathic health facilities shall be accorded equal status and privileges as licensed hospitals.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act,  1 no health care service plan, managed health care plan, health maintenance organization plan, preferred provider plan, or managed competition plan, no policy of disability insurance, no self-insured employer welfare benefit plan, no health insurance purchasing cooperative, no other insurance policy, plan, or arrangement for the purchase, payment, or reimbursement of health care, and no agency of the State or of any municipality, county, district, or other political subdivision of the State shall discriminate with respect to employment, staff privileges, or the provision of, or contracts for, professional services against a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches on the basis of whether the physician holds an M.D. or D.O. degree, his or her race, color, creed, religion, sex, or national origin.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act, whether allopathic or osteopathic in identity, shall be deemed equal under the law. No health care service plan, managed health care plan, health maintenance organization plan, preferred provider plan, or managed competition plan, no policy of disability insurance, no self-insured employer welfare benefit plan, no health insurance purchasing cooperative, no other insurance policy, plan, or arrangement for the purchase, payment, or reimbursement of health care, and no agency of the State or of any municipality, county, district, or other political subdivision of the State shall discriminate with respect to the provision of, or contracts for, health care or related services against a licensed hospital on the basis of its identity as either an allopathic or osteopathic hospital.

(e) Whenever hospital medical staff requirements for staff membership or department clinical privileges mandate that the physician who has been granted privileges be certified or eligible for certification by an appropriate American medical board, that hospital must consider on an equal basis certification or eligibility for certification by the appropriate American osteopathic board.

(f) Whenever an entity that contracts with physicians to provide managed care or risk-based care requires that the physician who is responsible for the contract be certified or eligible for certification by an appropriate American medical board, the contract reference to an American medical board shall be construed to include American osteopathic boards on an equal basis when the contracting physician is either an allopathic or osteopathic physician.

(g) Whenever an entity contracts with health facilities to provide health care services, managed care, or risk-based care and requires that those facilities be accredited by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the contract reference to JCAHO accreditation shall be construed to include American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accreditation on an equal basis.