The Jim Tarantino BCDI Hero Award

Each year, BCDI recognizes and honors individuals who go above and beyond in making an impact to the bleeding and clotting disorders community. Beginning in 2024, this prestigious distinction has been renamed “The Jim Tarantino BCDI Hero Award.”

Jim Tarantino, the brother of BCDI CEO/CMO Dr. Michael Tarantino, passed away unexpectedly in January 2024. Whether through generous donations or lending his expertise to drive the construction of BCDI’s state of the art campus, Jim’s support of the bleeding and clotting disorders community and BCDI was abundant, giving of himself freely and without reservation, taking great joy in helping those around him.

Jim Tarantino is a perfect example of the qualities of a BCDI Hero, and the highest award BCDI honors will now be named after Jim’s legacy.

2025 Recipient: Representative Bill Hauter & Senator Dave Koehler

Representative Bill Hauter

State Representative Bill Hauter has represented the 87th district of Illinois since January 2023. As a board-certified doctor in Emergency Medicine and Anesthesiology, and a practicing physician, Representative Hauter has been instrumental in introducing and passing legislation that allows those with a bleeding disorder access to affordable treatment.

Representative Hauter introduced House Bill 4055 in April 2023 (known as the Prior Authorization Reform Act) which removes barriers to clotting factor access to patients with bleeding disorders by requiring all prior authorizations are granted for at least six months, negating the need for emergency department visits to get clotting factor infusions pending prior authorization. The bill passed the House and Senate by a unanimous vote and was signed into law by Govenor J.D. Pritzker in July 2024. House Bill 4055 will take effect January 2026 and will allow Illinois residents with bleeding disorders to have improved access to their medications.

Senator Dave Koehler

State Senator Dave Koehler has represented the 46th legislative district of Illinois since December 2006. As a long-time supporter of the bleeding disorders community and the hemophilia treatment center model, Senator Koehler joined Representative Hauter’s House Bill 4055 as the Chief Senate Sponsor in April 2024, leading the way to a unanimous passing of the bill through the Senate.

Senator Koehler played a crucial role as a Senate Sponsor of HB 4595 in 2022, which focused on 340B discriminatory pricing, and forbid pharmacy benefit managers and Medicaid managed care organizations from discriminating against 340B covered entities and their contract pharmacies. In February 2025, Senator Koehler introduced Senate Bill 2385, which aims to prohibit pharmaceutical manufacturers from restricting or interfering with a local pharmacy that contracts with a 340B covered entity, such as Hemophilia Treatment Center’s like BCDI. BCDI uses 340B savings to improve access to affordable drugs for uninsured patients and well as increasing access to healthcare services in underserved communities.

Previous BCDI Hero Award Recipients

The stunning Jim Tarantino BCDI Hero Award, created by the incredible team at Karg Art Glass.