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SPRINGFIELD — A bill moving through the Legislature sets limits on the number of patients Illinois nurses can care for at any one time.

To comply with the limits, health care facilities in the state would likely have to hire more nurses to treat the same number of patients.

Advocates say insufficient nurse staffing leads to high stress and poor workplace conditions, where medical mistakes are more likely to occur.

More nurses assigned to fewer patients would improve patient care and lead to higher nurse retention rates, they say.

Opponents question how hospitals could pay for all the new nurses required, and say a rigid “one-size-fits-all” ratio would lead to less health care access, especially for rural, safety-net, and “magnet” hospitals that take patients from many different counties.

Both sides’ arguments are further complicated by the growing shortage of nurses in the state and the skyrocketing costs of health care.

House Bill 2604, sponsored by Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates), advanced out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee on Wednesday evening. The vote was 17-8, with one voting present.