Nick's Law 2011

KOTV reports on the frustrations facing supporters of an insurance mandate in Oklahoma:

Twenty-six states currently have autism related insurance mandates. Representative Mike Brown wants Oklahoma to become number 27. That's why he wrote Nick's Law.

See map of states and current autism insurance mandates.

"We always want to be like the rest of the nation. Lets be at the forefront here and take care of our kids," said Brown.

Read Brown's bill.

His original version of Nick's Law called for an insurance mandate that voters would have to approve. It would force insurance companies to cover all autism related therapy, including occupational, speech, physical and behavioral, ABA. But, his bill was not heard in committee and when he tried to get the Speaker of the House Kris Steele to allow a vote on the floor, he refused.

"I know there's strong support for it with most legislators, across the aisle, there's strong support for it. But, the powers that be right now, I'm not speaking for why, it's just not happening," said Brown.

By powers that be, he's talking about Speaker of the House Kris Steele.

"I do not favor this particular proposal," said Steele.

Instead, Steele wants to give his autism bill, that passed two years ago, time to work.

"I really believe we ought to give the pilot program an opportunity to work before we do anything that's going to increase the cost of health insurance for all Oklahomans," said Steele.

Read Steele's bill

"Nick's Law" Family Leaving OK

An editorial in The Tulsa World:

The family that led efforts to force Oklahoma insurance companies to cover autism is leaving the state.

The emotional and financial toll of raising an autistic son without insurance coverage forced Wayne and Robyne Rohde to take their children to Minnesota, where they will be able to get insurance that covers treatment for their 12-year-old son Nick.

For years, the Rohdes have led families lobbying the Legislature for autism coverage mandates. They scored a partial victory this year when the Legislature agreed to a bill that requires insurance companies to cover the same illnesses for autistic children as they do for children without the condition. Previously, families reported that their autistic children were unable to get insurance coverage for things like asthma in their autistic children.

But the parity bill fell far short of the need for the families. Wayne Rohde said the family's cost of analysts, tutors, therapists and medications for their son is nearly $40,000 a year.

Here's a key point about the Rohdes and other families like them: They didn't want a free ride. They wanted to pay their own way in the same fashion that millions of other American families deal with health costs — through insurance.

But the insurance companies simply refused to cover them.

Earlier posts here and here.

Nick's Law: A Followup

As described earlier, a proposed autism insurance mandate in Oklahoma is named "Nick's Law." The bill is named for Nick Rohde, the subject of this video: