G.A. to reconsider autism coverage

The Missouri General Assembly in January is expected to reconsider legislation that would force insurance companies to cover certain medical costs of children with autism.

Sen. Scott Rupp’s bill outlining insurance coverage of the developmental disorder passed the Missouri Senate by a wide margin, but it did not come to a final vote in the Missouri House.

Gov. Jay Nixon repeatedly said he was disappointed by the outcome. At a bill-signing ceremony in July, Nixon lashed out at House Republicans for not bringing the bill up for a vote. He said “there were no excuses” for the inaction.

In August, Nixon visited the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Columbia to renew his push for an autism insurance mandate. Nixon said the legislation should force health insurance carriers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism, including behavioral analysis therapy, and include no limit on the number of visits to autism service providers.

“I look forward to working with legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle and families and advocates in this room to ensure that autism is once again a key issue when the legislature reconvenes in January,” Nixon said his Columbia press conference.

House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said in a statement that Nixon’s guidelines sounded similar to the plan discussed by the House and Senate. Richard created the House Interim Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders and said he asked its members to create “solid legislation that all sides could agree on so that we may get the autism bill on the floor right out of the gate next session.”

The committee held its first meeting on Sept. 15. Lorrie Unumb, an advocate for Autism Speaks and the mother of an autistic 8-year-old, cited statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that one in 150 children is diagnosed with autism, according to a Columbia Missourian report. Unumb also cited a Harvard University study that found that medical costs can total $3.2 million over the course of an autistic person’s life.