It wasn't mentioned in today's state of the state, but Governor Nathan Deal has announced he will allocate funds for autism treatment for all state employees.
It's a small victory for Evans area lawmaker Ben Harbin, who has fought to mandate autism coverage for all Georgians.
A year ago, we introduced you to the Bullard family. Ava, their second daughter, is the namesake of Georgia's Autism Insurance Reform Bill (Ava's Law).
34 states have some kind of legislation that requires insurance coverage for autism treatments.
Anna Bullard, Ava's mother has worked tirelessly to pass the law for five years, "This is important for our state. We're better than this. We don't exclude a group of people because they have autism. It's wrong."
A couple days ago, the Early Autism project released this video telling Ava's story to people all across the nation
The video shows Ava's progress since her diagnosis to now. A child who couldn't speak and screamed at the sound of "Happy Birthday" is thriving, thanks to intensive therapy.
Ava has big career goals, "I want to be a fashion designer. I'm going to make all kinds of stuff, like purses and all that stuff."
Opposition to Ava's law says it would be unfair to pass something in the private insurance sector that you can't pass in the public sector, but good news for supporters comes from Governor Nathan Deal's 2015 budget.
If the clause stays in the budget, funds to cover treatment for autism are allocated for 2015, $2,410,661.00 to be exact. 2 million, That doesn't directly affect Ava's law, but it does send a signal that the governor supports treatment for autism in Georgia.
Original post:
New step for Autism legislation in GA