Joe Smith: House Passes Bill to Aid Children and Families with Autism

Autism effects 1 of every 110 children in the United States of America and an estimated 34,000 children in Missouri. Unfortunately, the treatment for this disorder generally comes out of the pockets of the parents – many of which cannot always afford proper treatment for their child.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have worked passionately for the past year to craft a solution to the growing epidemic of Autism Spectrum Disorders and the lack of insurance-covered treatment for these individuals. Even insurance companies voiced support for a bill that would require insurance coverage for this treatment. Over the summer, the Speaker of the House, Ron Richard, assigned an Interim Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders chaired by Representative Dwight Scharnhorst. The Speaker tasked this committee to meet and work on a bi-partisan piece of legislation that gathered consensus between families with autism, autism advocate groups and insurance companies. The work done by the committee was then passed to the Special Standing Committee on Health Insurance when session started. Chaired by Representative Kevin Wilson, this committee met constantly, working to further reach an agreement that would require insurance companies to cover the treatment of children with autism.

That work materialized into a bill [HB1311 & HB1341] passed through the House this week and includes the following:

1. This bill balances both sides of the issue: the costs that a requirement for insurance coverage incurs to businesses along with the growing need for coverage for children with autism.
2. Insurance companies would be required to cover children up to 18 years of age and cover up to $36,000 in costs for treatment.
3. The bill also cracks down to protect families in regard to who treats their children. In order to treat children with autism, providers must be licensed and registered by the state of Missouri.
4. To protect businesses, small businesses in particular, a business should report a problem if the insurance requirement for autism treatment is causing them to drop in revenue. If reported and deemed legitimate, these businesses will be granted the option of “dropping out” on the insurance requirement.

The passage of this bill was a great achievement in the House of Representatives. The ability to aid children and families suffering from autism is something we are proud of and will continue work on. It is because of Speaker Ron Richard, Representatives Scharnhorst and Wilson and the work of our members on both sides of the isle that this bill was passed.