Sunday night, we brought you the story of Allison Dennis, a West Seattle mom whose son Jack (photo left) is autistic, campaigning to get a bill mandating insurance coverage of autism treatment — “Shayan’s Law“ — through the Legislature. Allison says the bill is on the brink of death unless action is taken today:
Senator Karen Keiser, chair of the Senate Health Care Committee, has today to call SB5203 up for a vote in an executive session or it dies.
Shayan’s Law (SB5203) offers protection against the prevalent insurance coverage denials of medically necessary treatments for children on the autism spectrum at an identical cost to Washington State as the Neuro-Developmental Therapies (NDT) bill [HB1412] that proposes to do the same, but falls short due to insurance coverage loopholes within the bill. The insurance industry has carefully crafted provisions that render the NDT bill utterly meaningless for all developmentally disabled individuals who need services, not just the ones on the Autism Spectrum. The influence of the insurance industry is allowing the NDT bill to gain traction on the House side.
Ultimately, states pay in cases of untreated or undertreated populations and SB5203 puts the cost of health care back where it belongs. Shayan’s Law will hold insurance companies accountable for covering diagnosis and medically necessary, evidence based treatment of autism. Under Shayan’s Law, insurers will not be able to get out of accepting their share of this devastating medical condition, as they have been for years here in Washington and around the nation.
It is unthinkable that our lawmakers would choose less protection for the same cost to the state (NDT bill), especially in the current economic crisis. Eight states have passed Autism Insurance Reform similar to Shayan’s Law and 32 more have taken it up this year. We want the same protection for our children. Now more than ever, our state needs relief from the societal costs when children don’t get the intervention they need. Now more than ever, our children need these benefits.
As a Washington voter, I expect fiscally responsible decision making that will yield significantly lower societal costs of autism. SB5203 is an opportunity that Washington State lawmakers cannot afford to pass up. I urge anyone similarly concerned to call Karen Keiser and ask that SB5203 be put to an executive session vote. The deadline for a vote is the 25th – today. Please take part in the legislative process. Grassroots efforts do work and voter participation does make a difference! Her number is 360-786-7664.
West Seattle’s 34th District State Senator Joe McDermott is a co-sponsor of SB5203, but this district’s two State Representatives, Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson, are supporting the “NDT bill” (HB1412) that Dennis and other autism advocates say has too many loopholes.
| 9 COMMENTS