By Jerry Wolffe
Advocates for mandating insurance coverage of treatment for autism pleaded their case in committee Thursday, while advocates for parity of all brain disorders sought inclusion in the bill package.
At the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee, members heard four hours of testimony on of three Senate bills SB 414, SB 415 and SB 981.
The bills would mandate that insurance companies regulated by the state provide coverage for certain autism treatments recognized as being effective. The state would then reimburse the insurers for any claims through a special fund.
One major change from the way the bills came out of the Senate is a three-tiered reimbursement system. The Senate-passed version limited the reimbursements to $50,000 per individual per year up to age 18.
But a substitute changed the coverage levels based on age. For children under the age of seven, the annual limit would remain at $50,000. Children between the ages of seven and 13 would be capped at $40,000 per year and for children ages 13 through 18, the maximum annual benefit would be $30,000.
The bills also limit any liability to the state to the funds in the Autism Coverage Fund, so claims beyond that would not be reimbursed.
Numerous parents of children needing mental health treatment urged inclusion, saying they face the same struggles as parents of autism when it comes to the cost helping their children.
Paula Eifler, of Waterford Township, in written testimony said families in the state deserve parity for all brain disorders, not just some.
Mental illness is something my son was born with. He did not choose his condition, but he must live with it each and every day, she wrote. So why is it okay for insurance companies to discriminate against his condition?
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Advocates push for medical coverage for autism treatments