One of my great disappointments in the aftermath of last year’s contentious state budget process was the removal of a mandate that health insurance companies in Wisconsin provide coverage to children affected by autism. Throughout the time this blog has been on the intertubes, I’ve written at length about my own personal experience as the parent of an autistic child, and I’ve often voiced my dissatisfaction at how autistic children are treated by health insurance providers.
However, health insurance companies may not be able to ignore autistic children for much longer, as Governor Jim Doyle has renewed his efforts to pass legislation requiring health insurance plans to cover autism treatment. At a press conference at the Capitol, Governor Doyle said, “We hope it will take the financial squeeze off many families who are dealing with this issue.” While I certainly understand why insurance companies don’t want to provide coverage for autism treatment due to the expense of such treatment and their desire to protect their bottom line, sometimes there are more important things than saving a few bucks. This is one of those issues, and it’s just a shame health insurance companies here in Wisconsin need to be forced into providing coverage for autistic children.
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