Missouri Lawmakers Seek to Mandate Autism Coverage

In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, file photo, Gov. Jay Nixon talks to reporters during his first news...

In this Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009, file photo, Gov. Jay Nixon talks to reporters during his first news conference as Missouri's governor, in Jefferson City, Mo. Missouri lawmakers have taken a first step toward a mandate, which insurance companies claim could have a side effect of driving up insurance costs for everyone. Both chambers have to pass the same version of the legislation for it to go to Nixon. (AP Photo/Kelley McCall, File)

(AP)

Tom and Jenny Whitty have cashed out their children's college funds, maxed out several credit cards and taken out a second mortgage on their house — all to pay for therapy for their two autistic children.

They are running out of money. And their private insurance won't cover the autism treatments.

"It seems insane. This isn't Viagra or a tummy tuck; this is my child's whole future," Jenny Witty said recently while pleading with lawmakers to mandate that insurers cover autism.

Missouri lawmakers have taken a first step toward a mandate, which insurance companies claim could have a side effect of driving up insurance costs for everyone.

A House committee on Wednesday endorsed legislation requiring group health insurance plans to cover up to $72,000 annually of autism services for children younger than 11. Insurers would have to cover up to $36,000 annually for people 11 to 21.

The House action came a day after a Senate committee endorsed legislation mandating childhood autism coverage that would apply to an even broader array of insurance providers.

Both chambers have to pass the same version of the legislation for it to go to Gov. Jay Nixon for his signature.

In the past two years, six states — Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana — passed laws requiring coverage of behavior therapy for autism, which can cost up to $50,000 a year per child.

An actuarial analysis of an earlier version of the Missouri Senate bill, conducted by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman for the advocacy group Autism Speaks, estimates that an autism insurance mandate would result in a less than 1 percent increase in the cost of health insurance premiums.

But the Missouri bills could cause a greater than 3 percent premium increase, asserted Shannon Cooper, a former state lawmaker who now lobbies for the industry group America's Health Insurance Plans. He said that for every 1 percent increase in premiums, about 5,500 people no longer are able to afford health insurance.