Dear Legislator:
I urge your support for Assembly Bill 171 (Beall), proposed legislation that would require private health insurers to help pay for critical services and programs for people with autism and related disorders.
The intent of this landmark piece of legislation is to end the routine practice of private health insurers denying treatment and services for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders.
For too long, insurers have been allowed to institute a discriminatory policy that refuses to recognize autism and related developmental disorders or conditions. The insurers have shifted their cost for treatment onto taxpayer-supported services and public schools.
The result is that too many people with autism are denied effective, evidence-based treatments, including Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), because of the cost. In the aftermath of massive budget shortfalls triggered by a down economy, public-supported services have been forced to reduce the number of clients they serve.
Without effective early intervention, the average lifetime cost of services to support a person with autism is $3.2 million, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But this cost can be reduced by two-thirds with intensive ABA therapy.
The bill requires health plans to cover screening, diagnosis, and treatment. The health plans would develop and maintain networks of qualified autism spectrum disorders. AB 171 will be effective because it will put decisions about medically necessary treatments in the hands of health professionals instead of insurance companies. States that have already enacted their own autism insurance mandates have found it did not significantly raise premiums.
California must seriously begin addressing higher incidences of autism, its toll on lives, and its sky-rocketing costs. One in 110 children nationwide is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The rate is even higher for boys – 1 in 70, according to a CDC report issued in December 2009.
Thank you for your time and consideration of this bill. Parity in health care isn’t just about equity, but also about cost effectiveness, Making AB 171 the law of California is not only the morally right thing to do, but also the fiscally sound thing to do.
Sincerely,
(NAME)
(ADDRESS)
