Thirteen states require private insurers to cover autism treatments. Pennsylvania is poised to be the fourteenth to offer such coverage. Today the state's private insurers denied coverage for autism treatments, including speech therapy and applied behavioral analysis. The carriers claim that such treatments lack measurable achievements and that a state mandate would increase insurance costs for every customer, even those without autistic children, by as much as 6 percent, and cause budget problems for businesses that employ 50 or fewer people. However, according to a report published earlier this year by the Pennsylvania Cost Containment Council, the average monthly cost to consumers with private insurance--should an autism insurance mandate become law--would be $1 per month.
The state's House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would require private carriers to cover treatment for autism, and the bill awaits a Senate vote.
For more information:
- check out the story in the Intelligencer Journal