The House overwhelmingly advanced a bill Thursday containing a mandate that insurance companies operating in Kansas include in health policies the diagnosis and treatment of autistic children.
A coalition of lawmakers and parents worked for years to gain traction with legislation requiring state-regulated insurance companies to extend coverage for autism but ran into a wall of opposition from the politically influential industry.
Coverage written into House Bill 2744 was described by proponents as a delicate compromise among vested interests and characterized by opponents as a regulatory intrusion that went beyond requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
"This is important public policy," said Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican pivotal in negotiations on the bill. "It's the right thing to do."
Rep. Don Hill, D-Emporia, said hours of treatment for each child required by the House bill set for a final vote Friday provided an important platform for improving services to the estimated 8,400 Kansas children with autism.
"This doesn't go really as far as a great majority wish it could," he said. "It's a big step in the right direction."
Autism is a complex disorder of brain development commonly characterized by repetitive behaviors, difficulties in social interaction and communication challenges. Therapy early in a child's life is viewed as key to accommodating the disorder.
If signed into law, about 250 children with autism would qualify for benefits through large-group plans after January 2015. Approximately 750 children in small-group or individual-market plans established before enactment of the federal ACA would be able to secure the coverage in January 2016.
Under the pending legislation, state-regulated insurers would be forced to cover applied behavior analysis for up to 25 hours each week for a duration of four years following diagnosis. When the four-year clock expired or the child reached 12 years of age, coverage would be limited to 10 hours per week.
Rubin and other House members warned insertion of amendments to the bill expanding hours of treatment or age limits on coverage would result in defection of insurance lobbyists and doom the bill in the Senate.
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House nudging forward with autism insurance mandate