Senate Endorses Autism Insurance Coverage
.
JEFFERSON CITY —With slightly more than three weeks remaining in the legislative session, the General Assembly worked this week to advance as many bills as possible. The Senate brought several House bills to the floor and returned a handful back to the other chamber for approval.
To recap the process by which a bill becomes a law , a bill cannot pass without agreement from both chambers. For instance, if a bill is passed by the Senate, it is sent to the House where it goes through a similar process involving a committee hearing and vote before it can be brought to the floor. If the bill is passed by the majority of the House and if any changes are made to the Senate's version of the bill, it must return to the Senate for approval.
If the Senate approves of the House's changes, the bill is declared passed, at which point it can be sent to the governor's desk. If the Senate doesn't approve, the bill must be worked out in a conference committee , which consists of both Senate and House members. After a negotiated version of the bill is agreed upon, the bill returns to the originating chamber—in this case the Senate—and then the House, for final passage. After it is passed, the bill moves to the governor's desk for his signature. Some bills have specified enactment dates, but the majority take effect on Aug. 28 of any given year.
...
The Senate gave final approval to a bill that requires health insurance carriers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder to individuals under the age of 18. Senate Bill 167 , sponsored by Sen. Rupp, prohibits health carriers from denying or refusing to provide coverage to an individual or their dependent solely because the individual is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder .
...
The Missouri Senate will reconvene at 2 p.m. Monday, April 27, 2009. The First Regular Session of the 95th Missouri General Assembly will run through Friday, May 15, 2009.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_113204430.html
Published April 23, 2009 08:44 pm - Parents whose children have muscular dystrophy rely on their health insurance to assist in making sure their child gets the care he or she needs. The same can be said for the parents of children with juvenile diabetes, leukemia, or hearing or vision disorders.
In our view: Equity in coverage
Parents whose children have muscular dystrophy rely on their health insurance to assist in making sure their child gets the care he or she needs. The same can be said for the parents of children with juvenile diabetes, leukemia, or hearing or vision disorders.
That same assurance isn't there for parents of children diagnosed with autism. But, on Thursday, Missouri moved a step closer to making that happen. The Senate passed legislation requiring some insurers to provide coverage for treating children with autism.
According to The Associated Press, the legislation would require group health insurance plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism for children younger than 18, beginning in 2010.
It specifically would require coverage for a costly type of treatment known as “applied behavioral analysis,” which some parents say is particularly helpful for their autistic children. Insurers would have to cover up to $55,000 annually for such treatment for children younger than 15.
Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, who voted in favor of the bill, said his decision was based on the premise of right and wrong. “When there are actual medical conditions that require care, I've never been of the opinion that it's right to exclude coverage for certain medical conditions.”
Nodler said that objections to the bill are linked to fear that it will drive up insurance costs.
“I can't say absolutely that it won't, but that should be a separate issue. Bottom line, it's the right thing to do.”
Paula Baker, chief executive officer of Ozark Center of Joplin, which serves as the overseeing agency for Ozark Center for Autism, said in the 11 states that have passed the same law, insurance costs have gone down because the early intervention saves money later.
“Autism is treatable. When treated early, a child can grow up and go to school, go to college, get married. Why shouldn't insurance cover that treatment?” she said in a phone interview with the Globe.
The Senate passed the bill 29-2 on Thursday. The bill now goes to the House, where a separate version has stalled.
We applaud the Senate for doing the right thing. We would ask our state representatives to pass this legislation, so children with autism receive the same health coverage afforded to others.
