Action in Kansas

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports:

Legislation that paves the way for expanding insurance coverage of autism statewide got the green light early Wednesday, sending it to the desk of Gov. Mark Parkinson.

Shortly before 1 a.m., the House approved the autism bill, setting up a test track for requiring expanded coverage of autism therapies under the state's health insurance plan before mandating coverage be included in plans throughout the state. Parkinson on Wednesday afternoon left no doubts he will pull out a ceremonial pen to sign the legislation into law.

The legislation, "Kate's Law," enjoyed support from the Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation. The organization's YouTube channel is here.

Activity in Iowa and Alabama

The Des Moines Register lists autistic kids as winners in the just-concluded legislative session:

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: A new health insurance mandate for coverage of autism treatment applies only to state employees. But lawmakers say it’s an experiment to demonstrate the coverage doesn’t cost much, so it should become a statewide mandate. The cost for the state will be about $140,000 next year.

AP reports on a rally in Montgomery:

About 180 people have rallied in front of the Alabama Statehouse to urge lawmakers to continue funding for programs and services to help children and adults with autism.

The crowd Tuesday included children and adults with autism and their parents.

Republican state Rep. Cam Ward of Alabaster and Democratic Lt. Gov Jim Folsom Jr. urged the crowd to make sure the state continues to give priority to helping people with autism. Folsom and Ward led efforts last year to pass a bill establishing an interagency council to coordinate services available for autistic Alabama residents.

Ward's daughter, Riley, has autism and Folsom has an autistic nephew.

Folsom said the effort to help people with autism includes Republicans and Democrats because some issues are "too important for politics."

More on the Ne'eman Nomination

Disability Scoop reports:

“We are still behind Mr. Ne’eman and hope for a quick confirmation,” a senior White House official told Disability Scoop on Monday.

...

Many parents whose children are far more adversely affected by autism than Ne’eman pounced when they learned of his nomination to the National Council on Disability, which makes recommendations to the president and Congress on disability issues. Some at Autism Speaks have also publicly criticized the nomination.

Nonetheless, more than a dozen disability advocacy groups including the Autism Society of America, Easter Seals, Special Olympics and the American Association of People with Disabilities have expressed support for Ne’eman’s appointment.

Those close to Ne’eman say they’re trying not to read too much into the Senate hold. “It’s all kind of speculative,” says Scott Michael Robertson, who is vice president of Ne’eman’s Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. “I think it may just be politics as usual.”

At Newsweek, Claudia Kalb writes:

Parents whose kids are severely affected by the disorder want autism to go away for good. At the very least, they want their children—many of whom are incapable of feeding themselves and using the toilet—to get better. Ne’eman, they charge, can’t possibly understand this and he shouldn’t be appointed a representative for the entire spectrum. The National Council on Disability, however, isn’t interested in genetic research; it’s purpose is to “promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, and that empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.” This is exactly the kind of dry, laborious and important work that gets Ne’eman so excited. Opposing his nomination won’t get anybody closer to a cure; instead, it could deny a passionate advocate the unique opportunity to lobby for autism rights and opportunities at the very highest levels.

A Case Against Mandates

Pamela Reese Finch. executive director of the Employer Alliance for Affordable Health Care, lays out the case against a proposed mandate in New York:

Health insurance mandates are bills that expand required benefits under private health insurance coverage for small and medium-sized businesses, but generally do not apply to larger companies that can self-insure. Mandates are proven to increase the product cost. Since New York is one of the most heavily-mandated states in the nation, it comes as no surprise that our insurance is among the most costly.

This bill requires private insurance to offer expanded treatments to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. ASD is a broadly defined variety of conditions and across the nation, diagnosis of ADS is rapidly on the rise. Health insurance policies already cover medical conditions associated with ADS. This legislation would require health insurance to now cover services deemed “educational” in nature — setting a trend for our private health insurance to cover items that are not medically-related. The cost of this new coverage to individual policy holders will be anywhere between 2 percent and 6 percent. This would be on top of the 12.2 percent that is already paid to cover the cost of New York ‘s 51 other health insurance mandates.

Ne'eman Nomination

Ari Ne'eman's nomination to the National Council on Disability has stalled because of an anonymous hold in the Senate. The New York Times reports:

When President Obama nominated Ari Ne’eman to the National Council on Disability, many families touched by autism took it as a positive sign. Mr. Ne’eman would be the first person with the disorder to serve on the council.

Ari Ne'eman would be the first person with autism on the National Council on Disability.

But he has since become the focus of criticism from other advocates who disagree with his view that society ought to concentrate on accepting autistic people, not curing them.

A hold has been placed on Mr. Ne’eman’s nomination, which requires Senate confirmation. Whether the hold is related to the criticism of Mr. Ne’eman (pronounced NAY-men) and what it might take to lift it is unclear.

Georgia Action

Georgia's State Senate today passed SB 161 to create a twenty-one member statewide Autism Taskforce within the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The first section explains its purpose:

This task force will serve as a "brain trust" for Georgia so that it may establish policy by gathering scientific minds, researchers, physicians, and parents of children affected by this disease to create better screening, education, treatment, and services for those children and to recommend a unified and coordinated agenda for addressing autism in the State of Georgia. Early therapeutic treatment for these children has been shown to reduce costs to families and to the State of Georgia. The goal of this task force will be to review prevalence data for autism spectrum disorders, review current programs and funding, determine gaps in services and access issues, review best practices in the field, and provide for a comprehensive plan with recommendations and identifiable needs.

The bill now moves to the Georgia House.

An earlier version -- "Ava's Law" -- would have included an insurance mandate.

Mandate Activity in Rhode Island

The Providence Journal reports on a legislative commission hearing on insurance and autism. Among the witnesses was autism mom Nicole Katzman.

Its chairman, state Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, has introduced legislation that would require health insurers to cover a variety of treatments for autism prescribed by a physician or psychologist, including medications, psychiatric and psychological care, and treatments that include speech, occupational and physical therapy, as well as “habilitative or rehabilitative” care such as Applied Behavioral Analysis.

A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by state Sen. Edward J. O’Neill, D-North Providence, Pawtucket, and Lincoln. O’Neill’s bill, influenced by Katzman’s experience, also would restructure existing state-financed services for children with autism.

Unanticipated Consequences in Indiana

Health care legislation may have unanticipated consequences, reports a TV station in Indiana:

Indiana may be forced to cut back on services to Medicaid patients to keep the program solvent without a tax increase.

The new federal health care plan is predicted to boost the number of people on Medicaid -- one in four Hoosiers, compared to the current one in six, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

...

Indiana is known for offering Medicaid recipients more services than many other states, even though it has fewer recipients.

[State Senator Luke] Kenley acknowledged some of those services could be cut back or eliminated.

"That's a strong possibility," he said. "I think at one point we had something like 31 optional services, which, you know, it was hard to get on our program. But once you were there, you were well taken care of. We just may not be able to afford to do that."

Some of those optional services include dental and vision, addiction rehab and treatment for kids with autism.

Kenley said it's too early to determine what services, if anything, may be eliminated.

LAPD Shooting

AP reports:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California is urging the Los Angeles Police Department to examine its policies following the fatal weekend shooting of an unarmed man who family members say was autistic.

In a statement released Monday, ACLU of Southern California Executive Director Ramona Ripston said the organization is "deeply troubled" by the shooting.

Police say 27-year-old Steven Eugene Washington was shot by two officers near Koreatown shortly after midnight Saturday after he approached them and appeared to remove something from his waistband.

Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger said the officers fired "in defense of their lives."

In addition to a thorough investigation, Ripston asks that the LAPD "look at changes in department policy and training that could help prevent such a tragedy from recurring."

KPCC-FM follows up:

LAPD officials say they began working with the Autism Society of America three years ago, and started a one-hour course for officers in 2008.

That periodic training focuses on helping officers understand how to deal with an autistic person in the field.

Officials said about 2,500 members of the department had completed the training. They could not say whether the two officers who shot and killed an autistic man in Koreatown on Saturday had received the training.

Insurance Mandate Legislation in New York

WTEN-TV in Albany reports:

A major stride made Monday at the state capital, with New York one step closer, to requiring health plans that would provide medical coverage for families with autistic children.

Under New York State's current insurance and public health law, insurance companies are not required to provide coverage for families with autistic children. That's despite a growing number of children diagnosed.

But Monday, a state senate insurance committee voted to amend that law, making way for a proposal some are calling the strongest bill for autism insurance in the country.

The bill, S7000A, is here.

The committee session is here:

Pennsylvania Legislator on Autism

Pennsylvania Representative Dennis O'Brien, a leading advocate on the issue, last week sponsored a resolution recognizing April as Autism Awareness Month. In floor remarks, he summed up his state's accomplishments on autism.

On Asperger and DSM

In the Los Angeles Times, freelance writer Chris Woolston writes skeptically of the plan to fold Asperger into "autism spectrum disorder" in DSM-V. He has two sons, one with a diagnosis of Asperger, the other with autism. He sees a great deal of difference in their behavior. He adds:

Aspies aren't necessarily happy with the label change, either. Many embrace their diagnosis as part of their identity. Some even look down on "neurotypical" people and their boringly normal brains. Call them autistic and the sense of pride could vanish. My oldest son has told many teachers and classmates over the years about his Asperger's syndrome. But if he had been diagnosed as autistic, he would have likely kept the news to himself. "You don't want to tell people that you have autism," he says. "Asperger's at least sugarcoats it."

Insurance Action

In Delaware, reports the Insurance and Financial Advisor:

Delaware is now among the growing number of states attempting to have insurance companies cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

Sen. Liane Sorenson (R-6th District) has proposed SB 204, requiring all individual health benefit plans to cover autism for those ages 21 and under.

The bill caps benefits at $50,000 per year for applied behavior analysis services, a widely used treatment method for children with autism mostly uncovered by insurance. The treatment is defined in the bill as using behavioral stimuli and consequences to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior.

In Iowa, two weeks ago, Senator Tom Rielly spoke on the issue before the State Senate moved a mandate for health insurance for state workers: