| Help Make Autism Insurance Coverage a Reality in
New York State |
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| Bills have been proposed in both the New York State Assembly (A.6888-B) and New York State Senate (S.6123), which would provide better coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with autism in New York State.
The bills propose amendments to the Insurance Law to provide coverage in every policy, group policy, and/or medical indemnity, hospital service or health service corporation, for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. They further provide that treatment of autism spectrum disorders shall include psychiatric care, including direct, consultative and diagnostic services; habilitative or rehabilitative care; pediatric and developmental pediatric care; anesthesiological care and anesthetic services; neurological care; gastroenterogical care; endocrinological care, including behavioral, speech, occupational and physical therapies as well as social skills education training.
Historically, autism has been misidentified as a psychiatric disorder, and has been excluded from coverage by health insurance carriers. New York State Insurance Law was significantly changed in 2006, by requiring insurers to provide all medical services to people with autism that would be provided to people without autism. This law has helped ameliorate the problem, but it does not specify health care services specific to the treatment and diagnosis of autism.
Please support A.6888-B and S.6123 by contacting your local representatives, Assemblymember Koon and Senator Huntley. |
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
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| A brief letter, fax or telephone call to you local representatives in support of these bills could help ensure that our friends, family, and children with autism are properly diagnosed and provided with the treatments they so desperately need…
- Assemblyman Koon
 518) 455-5784; Address: Legislative Office Building, Room 643, Albany, New York 12248.
- Senator Shirley Huntley 518) 455-3531; Fax: (518) 426-6859; Address: Legislative Office Building, Room 803, Albany, New York 12248.
- Your own Assembly Member. To find your Assembly member, call (518) 455-4100 or go to www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/
- Your own State Senator. To find your State Senator, call (518) 455-2800 or go to www.nysenate.gov.
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on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 9:53 am and is filed under Advocacy, Awareness, Benefits, Education, Healthcare, Insurance Coverage, Living With, unlockautism.com.
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February 4th, 2010 at 10:03 am
Don’t understand how an epidemic of this proportions has to fight for insurance coverage given the overwhelming proof that early intervention is the single biggest thing one can do to help a child with Autism. We can give addicts clean needles to slow the spread of aids but we cant provide basic therapy and instruction to our children and country’s future?
I am not surprised given the state of lobbyist influence in Washington. You listening Obama? My kid has autism and I cant get my insurance company to help pay for his treatments. Out of pocket expenses in 5 years – $110,000. But if my son was a crack addict, he would get more treatment and assistance than he could use. WTF!