A bill that will help families with autistic children has been co-sponsored by Utah Sen. Howard Stephenson. The bill is called Clay's Law and it could mandate health insurance for autism therapy.

Clay's Law is named after Clay Whiffen, a boy from Highland, Utah. After two years of intense therapy Clay no longer suffers from autism.

Autism is the fastest growing childhood disability with 1 in every 133 children in Utah being diagnosed with autism according to a report by the Utah Autism Coalition in 2007.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that early identification and participation in intervention can improve the long term outcome for children with an autism spectrum disorder.

The rise in children being diagnosed with autism and the expense of intervention therapies has left some children with inadequate treatment.

"I've heard of and know of some families who have lost their homes, moved into tiny apartments, or sold all their belongings to afford treatment," said Leeann Whiffen, Clay's mother. "Early intense behavior therapy or Applied Behavior Analysis was extremely expensive, over $30,000 per year."

The bill aims to require private health insurance companies to provide coverage for the treatment of autism. The bill will provide coverage for children under the age of 17.

According to the Utah Autism Coalition the coverage under this bill is subject to a maximum benefit of $50,000 annually for a child who is less than 9-years-old and a maximum benefit of $25,000 annually for a child who is between 9 and 17 years old.

"By updating our insurance policies to include this important, medically prescribed and endorsed treatment, we are changing lives thus generations," Whiffen said.

This kind of legislation is not uncommon among states. Eight states have already enacted legislation to update their health insurance coverage that is similar to Clay's law. In addition 28 states are currently working on similar legislation, according to Utah Autism Coalition.

According to the Council for Affordable Healthcare the six initial states requiring health insurance coverage for autism reported costs raised less than 1 percent.

According to the Utah Autism Coalition the early treatment of children with autism will save the state money in the long run.

"By intervening at an early age and getting these children the proper treatment we'll save $2.8 million in taxes that would be used to take care of these individuals over their lifetime," Whiffen said. "Multiply this number by how many individuals there are with autism in our state and we're looking at a cost benefit into the billions of dollars."

The next step for the bill will be a Committee Hearing that will determine whether the bill makes it to the floor for a senate vote.

If the bill is passed it will go into effect on July 1, 2010.

Compensation for Autism

-Requires private health insurance companies to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

-Coverage will be provided to individuals under the age of 17.

-Coverage provided for treatment of autism spectrum disorders, defined as any treatment generally accepted by the medical community or the American Academy of Pediatrics as an effective treatment for children with autism.

- The bill includes coverage of the following treatments: Habilitative or rehabilitative care, Early intensive behavior therapy, Pharmacy care, Psychological care, Therapeutic care, Occupational therapy, and Speech therapy.

-Applies only to fully funded health plans governed by state.



Copyright Brigham Young University 17 Feb 2009