Alabama Senate approves autism insurance mandate
The Alabama Senate voted 33 to 1 Tuesday night mandating insurance coverage for autism therapy. The bill, which has previously stalled in the Senate due to concerns over costs, requires providers to cover an intensive therapy called Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy. The bill will now go back to the House where lawmakers must decide whether or not they want to accept the changes the Senate made to it, such as making the mandate only apply to patients up to 18 years of age, applying only to companies with at least 51 employees, and delaying the mandate altogether on public plans until Dec. 31, 2018. Last month, the House unanimously passed the bill, 100-0. Despite not wanting any changes, the bill’s sponsor Meridianville-Republican Rep. Jim Patterson has said he’ll ask his colleagues to approve the changes. Parents of children who have had the therapy told the House Insurance Committee that it has been “life-changing” for their children. The therapy is also expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars each year. “This whole experience has been a life changing thing for me. I have learn[ed] so many things, and met some wonderful people,” wrote Meridianville resident Summer Bryant Stewart on Rep. Patterson’s Facebook wall Tuesday night after the bill’s Senate passage. “The autism community is the toughest group of people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. The love and support from my family and friends kept me going through this fight. I am so thankful for Jim Patterson and the courageous way he stood up for my family and the rest of the autism community. “ Upon passage, the bill’s Senate sponsor Auburn-Republican Sen. Tom Whatley, took to Facebook to celebrate:
Autism insurance bill stalls in Alabama Senate
Families of autistic children faced a set-back Monday when a bill that would require health insurance providers cover an expensive autism therapy stalled in the Alabama Senate. The bill, which passed the state House unanimously two weeks ago, is held up in the Senate Budget Committee where Chairman, Daphne-Republican Sen. Trip Pittman says there are concerns over the costs to the state. Alabama is one of only five states with no requirement that insurance companies cover the costly therapy, called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). According to the bill’s language, children with autism who are 9 years old and younger would be insured for up to $40,000 in treatment per year. That coverage would decrease to $10,000 per year by age 19. The bill faces heavy opposition from the insurance industry, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as the Business Council of Alabama. Nevertheless, the bill’s sponsor Auburn-Republican Sen. Tom Whatley took to social media on Saturday where he posted a video discussing the importance of the bill calling it “much-needed” and “the solution our state needs” for families with children along the autism spectrum. Pittman says it will be at least another week before SB406 has a public hearing. Watch Whatley’s Facebook video about the bill below:
