Watered down bill loses support.
Originally called “Clay’s Law,” SB43 required insurance companies to cover $25,000 to $50,000 a year in autism treatment, depending on a child’s age, up to age 17.Now a substitute bill, which hasn’t been debated, would allow parents to buy coverage through the state’s Health Insurance Pool, which provides insurance to Utahns who can’t get it through the private market.
Parents would have to buy in by the time a child is 3 months old, and coverage would last from age 2 to 6. Autism can’t be diagnosed that early, so parents would have to decide to buy coverage before they knew their child was autistic.
The changes make it unlikely that many families would benefit, according to supporters of the original bill.
“Our legislators are not hearing our pleas for help. … We’ve moved so far from our original purpose, I don’t feel like this should reflect Clay,” said Highland mother Leeann Whiffen, who has asked for her son’s name to be removed from the bill.
According to Autism-world.com, definitive diagnosis isn’t possible until 24 months to 6 years old. In short, the final version of the bill does little more than show Senators on record as having broached the subject in session, with little actual solution for the problem it claims to address.
that sounds kind of silly to buy coverage before you even know if you need it. maybe thats how it works.