Could autism funding finally happen?

For those of you who’ve been faithful, loyal readers, you know my own personal story when it comes to how autism has touched my life. I’ve written at lengthhere at Blogging Blue about autism, and more specifically efforts by Wisconsin lawmakers to require insurance companies to provide coverage for autism behavioral therapy. With the new session of the State Senate comes news that an autism therapy requirement for insurance companies might soon become a reality. Among the
first three bills introduced in the State Senate is Senate Bill 3, authored by Sen. Judy Robson of Beloit. Senate Bill 3 would require insurance companies to cover treatment for children with autism:

The bill would require every individual and group health insurance policy and plan, including defined network plans and cooperative sickness care plans, to cover the cost of treatment for insured persons with autism, Asperger’s syndrome or other pervasive developmental disorders.

“Early treatment for autism has shown great success in helping children with this disorder, reducing the need for costly special education and medical services over the long run,” Robson said. “Autism is a neurological disorder, and it should be covered like juvenile diabetes and heart disease. It is unfortunate we have to force insurance companies to cover treatment for autism, but until we have fundamental health care reform, this type of law is necessary. Early treatment not only helps these children have a more productive life, it keeps them from needing special education, so it makes good fiscal sense.”

This is good news, and in my biased opinion it’s a far better investment than an four million dollars spent on one soybean crusher or any of the other “pet projects” that got sneaked into the last budget; after all, it’s an investment in a bright future for kids with autism and related spectrum disorders.