What Families Should Know About Missouri’s Landmark Autism Bill

John Huff, Missouri Director of Insurance, YouTube

Missouri Director of Insurance John Huff explains the key provisions of the law just signed by Gov. Jay Nixon that guarantees insurance coverage for autism treatments.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mogov1#p/a/u/1/P-7tIhEYQ9U

(from KMIZ, ABC 17 -June 10, 2010)

Governor Nixon signed a bill into law Thursday (June 10) that requires insurance companies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of Autism.

The new law requires up to $40,000 in coverage for a therapy called Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA, until kids turn 18 years old.  Supporters of the bill say the therapy is crucial in helping children with Autism or related disorders.

“Thousands of families in Missouri will no longer face the agonizing decision to sacrifice financial well-being in order to get this vital treatment for their children,” Gov. Nixon said.  “These legislators and I are here today with a message to those families.  Things in the Show Me State are going to change; this is a turning point.”

The bill also says insurance providers cannot refuse to renew or restrict coverage only because a dependent is diagnosed with Autism.  The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2011.

The Governor, lawmakers and families affected by Autism attended the bill-signing at the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders in Columbia.

http://www.abc17news.com/news/story.php?id=17236&franchise=&category=Missouri%20Government

Missouri is now the 21st state with a similar law.

Autism affects an estimated one in 110 children nationwide.

Tickets are $35 and include fight songs, bragging rights, sports highlights, appetizers and Boulevard beverages. Truman and Baby Jay will be there as well as staff from MU’s athletic department. To purchase tickets:
http://www.projectchange-kc.org/borderchallenge2/

(Cheryl Uterschultz, The Thompson Center Alumni Newsletter)

The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri is proud to announce the 5th Annual Autism Intervention Conference to be held April 8-10, 2010 in Columbia, Missouri. For more information visit: http://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu/

]]> http://thompsonfoundation.org/2010/03/22/5th-annual-autism-intervention-conference/feed/ 0 http://thompsonfoundation.org/2010/01/29/autism-coverage-bill-clears-missouri-senate-committe/ http://thompsonfoundation.org/2010/01/29/autism-coverage-bill-clears-missouri-senate-committe/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:16:47 +0000 shawm http://thompsonfoundation.org/?p=369 (-Brian Krebs, Columbia Missourian) JEFFERSON CITY — Parents of children with autism are one step closer to guaranteed insurance coverage for their children. Missouri Senate committee members unanimously voted Tuesday (January 26, 2010) to pass a bill http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=3157601that would mandate insurance coverage for treatment of autism and related disorders. Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, sponsored the bill, which [...]]]>

(-Brian Krebs, Columbia Missourian)

JEFFERSON CITY — Parents of children with autism are one step closer to guaranteed insurance coverage for their children.

Missouri Senate committee members unanimously voted Tuesday (January 26, 2010) to pass a bill http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=3157601that would mandate insurance coverage for treatment of autism and related disorders.

Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, sponsored the bill, which would allow people younger than 21 under certain conditions up to $72,000 in coverage per year.

Gov. Jay Nixon has advocated for the bill. Early diagnosis and treatment practices have been found to be very effective in treating children with autism, Nixon said.

“Without insurance coverage, the cost of these vital therapies often places an unbearable financial burden on those families,” Nixon said in a release. “I applaud the committee for its bipartisan vote on the this autism bill and urge the General Assembly to continue its quick passage so I can sign it into law.”

Critics have said the measure would increase health insurance costs.
Legislative staff estimate the increased coverage would cost the state $7.2 million in the first full year of implementation for coverage of government workers’ children. The staff predicted that cost would fall by half in the next year as demand fell.

The staff also wrote that they did not include the costs of a potential expansion in diagnosis criteria, which would lead to more people for insurance to cover.

A pair of House bills for a similar autism coverage mandate are currently sitting in committee. No action has been taken since the committee hearing last Tuesday.

Last year, a similar measure cleared the Senate but was blocked by House leadership.

(Click here for a direct link to story http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/01/26/autism-bill-moves-closer-senate-floor/)

Press release from the office of Sen. Kit Bond

U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that he secured $750,000 in federal funds for the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri (MU).

“Local and community leaders in Missouri asked me to help send some of their tax dollars back home for local priorities,” said Senator Kit Bond. “I’m proud to support these funds that will help improve the lives of children and families across Missouri.”

“This generous allocation is the latest example of Senator Bond’s unwavering support for Missouri children and families,” said Jim Poehling, Executive Director of the Thompson Center at MU. “The University of Missouri Thompson Center pledges to use its best efforts to apply these funds for the enhancement of research, education and clinical care for Missourians affected by autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.”

Autism is a complex brain disorder that has increased in prevalence at an alarming rate over the past 20 years. Currently, approximately 23,000 individuals in Missouri are affected and many more experience other developmental disorders. This funding will help improve the lives of Missouri children and families living with autism and neurodevelopment disorders. Bond secured the $750,000 in funds in the 2010 omnibus spending bill, which passed the U.S. Senate yesterday to provide for construction, renovation and equipment costs for the Thompson Center and help meet the growing needs of children living with autism.

Established in 2005, the Thompson Center is a facility which accommodates research, training and service programs to help meet the needs of children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.  MU obtained $5.65 million in funding to purchase a new facility to accommodate the expanding number of individuals in Missouri suffering from the disease and other disorders. The funds Bond secured will also help advance the ability of faculty at the center to serve more Missouri children and families, while enhancing MU’s national reputation for high-quality research.

Serving 1,700 individuals over the past year, the Thompson Center is the largest center in Missouri specializing in autism spectrum disorders.  For more information, please visit the MU Thompson Center website at http://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu/

Click here to read the original article.

By Jason Noble of the Kansas City Star

Gov. Jay Nixon appeared Thursday with several Missouri lawmakers to call for prompt passage of a bill requiring coverage of autism treatments.

“Families must have access to both the diagnosis of autism and the best therapies to treat the condition,” said Nixon, a Democrat.

House Speaker Ron Richard, a Republican, promised quick action and said he would support the bill that ultimately emerges from the House.

“Whatever the final product is that’s sent out to the Senate, that’s what I’ll support,” Richard said.

His support is a turnabout from the last legislative session, when a similar bill breezed through the Senate but failed in the House after Richard declined to bring it to the floor for debate.

At the time, Richard said he did not believe the bill had a “strong consensus.”

Since then, however, an interim committee has begun building consensus among families, insurance providers and small businesses that may be affected, said Kristen Blanchard, a spokeswoman for Richard.

Identical bills were filed in the House and Senate this week requiring state-regulated health insurance carriers — about a third of the overall market — to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism, a neurological disorder that affects communication and social skills.

The key sections require insurers to cover up to $72,000 a year for applied behavior analysis therapy, an intensive treatment that doctors and families say is effective for young children diagnosed with the disorder.

“What the therapies really mean for families … is the difference between whether or not a mother can take her daughter to a movie, or a dad can take his son to a ball game,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, a St. Louis County Republican and the father of a child with autism.

The legislation also includes a waiver allowing small businesses to ignore the mandate if they can prove that autism coverage has led to an increase in premiums of 5 percent or more.

Backers expect continued opposition from insurance companies, which argue that a mandate will raise premiums and force others to give up their insurance.

“It sounds like a special interest may, if the legislation is passed, get served at a high price tag to others who are struggling to pay their premiums,” said Calvin Call, executive director of the Missouri Insurance Coalition.

Call said his organization estimates that premiums could rise as much as 3 percent.

But the bill’s supporters, who estimate that premiums would rise by less than 1 percent, are undeterred.

“We think … that this will be the year that we’re going to get something and it will be meaningful,” said Sen. Scott Rupp, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor.

“It won’t be a watered-down version that the insurance industry is hoping for.”

Click here to read the original article.

By Tony Messenger of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

House Speaker Ron Richard and Gov. Jay Nixon have continued their battle to be the champion of families with autistic children today, with competing announcements concerning legislation in the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

Richard, a Republican, today touted a bill filed by Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst, R-St. Louis, in a phone conference call that was hastily announced. Richard’s spokeswoman said the bill will get a quick committee hearing.

Half an hour after Richard’s conference call, Nixon announced in a news release that tomorrow, he and three Republicans (Sen. Scott Rupp of Wentzville, Sen. Eric Schmitt of Glendale, and Rep. Jeff Grisamore of Lee’s Summit), will detail their version of the bill in visits throughout the state.

At the end of this legislative session, Nixon said that he would make autism insurance a priority. Both Nixon and Rupp blamed House leadership for killing last year’s bill, which would require insurance companies to cover therapy for children with autism.

Richard said that last year’s bill would have been too expensive for insurance companies, and he vowed to pass an affordable bill in the upcoming session.

Click here to read the original article.

By Michele Munz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Area legislators and autism advocates hope new studies showing a jump in autism rates will spur more research into the cause and cure of the disorder as well as increase funding for treatment.

One in 91 children in the U.S. has autism spectrum disorder, according to a study released Monday (10/5/09) in the medical journal of Pediatrics. That smashes the previous estimate of one in 150 released two years ago.

The study was conducted by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and involved a telephone survey of more than 78,000 parents. The new findings prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release preliminary data from its more in-depth study due out later this year, which also indicate about 1 percent of children are affected with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. It is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a “spectrum disorder” that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. It has no known cause or cure.
Research shows that early intervention can dramatically improve a child’s future, but therapy is expensive and time intensive. Insurance companies often don’t cover the cost.

Missouri legislators pushing for mandated insurance coverage of autism therapy hope the new numbers will make it easier for their proposals to pass.

“The longer you wait, the more kids are going to be left out. We have to deal with this head on, and insurance coverage is key to that,” said Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, who two years ago, in response to the 1-in-150 statistic, created the state Autism Commission and Office of Autism to study how to best deal with the growing problem and help families navigate services.

Insurance companies are against a mandate, saying it will cause everyone’s premiums to rise. Increased intervention, however, may reduce long-term costs. Recent studies estimate that the lifetime cost to care for an individual with autism is $3.2 million, according to the information compiled by the CDC.

Several bills dealing with autism that have stalled in Congress may get new life. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has proposed the Autism Treatment Acceleration Act to help those diagnosed gain better access to coordinated services, improve training for treatment providers and ease costs. “The information in this new report highlights the pressing need for additional services, support and treatments,” Durbin stated in a press release.

Government health officials urged caution in interpreting the rapid rise, which could be due to increased awareness, broader definitions of the disorder and how it is diagnosed. At the same time, the CDC website also stated the disorder is “of urgent public health concern, and these data affirm that a concerted and substantial national response is warranted.”

National autism advocacy groups called for more funding toward research and services. “Significant resources must be directed toward screening and diagnosis, affordable interventions that treat the whole person and comprehensive education plans to foster lifelong skill development so that people with autism will have the ability to live and work independently,” stated Lee Grossman, president of Autism Society.

Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, also stated, “These new numbers should serve as a renewed call to action to take on what is clearly a major public health crisis.”

Amy Buie, the founder and director of the Center for Autism Education in O’Fallon, Mo., presents workshops across the country about autism.

She says the increase in autism rates is due in large part to the broadening of the definition of autism spectrum disorder, which now includes milder symptoms. Doctors are also more educated and able to identify these more subtle characteristics of autism, such as not able to look people in the eye or interacting.

But, Buie added, the disorder is also affecting more kids, especially boys. The national survey showed 1 in 58 boys has autism spectrum disorder.

“It’s twofold,” Buie said. “We have more kids with autism because we’ve widened the gap of who we are diagnosing, and then we are also seeing a rise in the actual numbers.”

The Center for Autism, which serves children on the severe end of the disorder, has gone from seven to 32 students since opening eight years ago, Buie said. The center has moved to a bigger facility, which is already inadequate. Three applicants were recently turned down.

“We are in the same situation that a lot of people are in … we are trying to serve as many kids as we can, and we are simply running out of space,” she said.

Dr. Kimberly Twyman is a pediatrician at the Knights of Columbus Developmental Center at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, which assesses children for developmental delays. Twyman says the new statistic also reflects positive changes she has seen at the center: Children are diagnosed earlier, milder forms of the disorder are caught and pediatricians are doing better at identifying and referring patients.

“We are recognizing more children, and more children are getting the help they need,” Twyman said.

Read the original article here.