Treatment State Senate still must consider House amendments to enact proposal.
After years of parents pushing for it, a bill to require health insurers to pay for autism treatment for kids has finally passed both houses of the Legislature.
The House passed SB57 on a 69-3 vote. But because it was amended, it was sent back to the Senate for a final vote before it may go to Gov. Gary Herbert for signature. The Senate earlier passed it 18-7.
The bill would add Utah to the list of 34 states that require insurers to pay for autism treatment for children, but the coverage would not be effective until Jan. 1, 2016.
"Theres a medical adage you never want to be the first or the last to embrace a therapy," Sen. Brian Shiozawa, R-Cottonwood Heights, the bills sponsor and a physician, said earlier. "This is not an investigational drug or therapy. We know this is safe and that it works."
Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, said, "This is an idea whose time has come. I do not recall a single group that has been more persistent" than parents of autistic parents.
Rep. Roger Barrus, R-Centerville, said he has seen such bills pushed for at least six years unsuccessfully, and promoted one himself. "I am proud of this body for recognizing that this is something necessary to help these children and their families."
House Majority Leader Brad Dee, R-Ogden, the House sponsor of the bill, said lawmakers were able to work with parents and insurance companies to achieve a product that all can finally support.
"I think it will be helpful not only to the insurance industry of Utah, but also children and families that bear the burden and sometimes the blessings of autism," he said.
Rep. Dean Sanpei, R-Provo, who works for Intermountain Health Care, said the bill has protections for the insurance industry such as allowing employers whose health premiums might increase by more than 1 percent to opt out of the program.
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Autism bill passes both Utah houses