JEFFERSON CITY— With a little more than a month remaining for the governor to sign the bills sent to his desk, the vast majority of legislation passed in 2010 still awaits his signature. However, this week, the governor signed into law one of the Legislature’s top priorities for the year—insurance coverage for autism.
House Bill 1311 requires health insurers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Specifically, HB 1311 requires health carriers that issue or renew health benefit plans on or after Jan. 1, 2011, to provide coverage to Missouri residents for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Likewise, the bill prohibits health carriers from refusing to cover an individual or dependent solely because the individual is diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
House Bill 1311 does, however, establish coverage restrictions for autism, limiting coverage to medically necessary treatment that is ordered by the individual’s treating licensed physician or licensed psychologist, in accordance with a treatment plan. Coverage for applied behavior analysis, a common treatment method for autism, is capped at $40,000 annually through age 18, though the benefit amount will be adjusted at least every three years for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index.
House Bill 1311 also prohibits autism services from being subject to any greater deductible, co-insurance or co-payment than other physical health care services provided by the health benefit plan.
In addition, a state Behavior Analyst Advisory Board is established under the State Committee of Psychologists within the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. The new board is charged with establishing and overseeing licensure requirements for behavior analysts and assistant behavior analysts who provide therapies for children with autism spectrum disorders.
And finally, the bill requires the Missouri Department of Insurance to grant a waiver from the autism insurance standard to small business employers that have group health plans if compliance raises premium costs by a certain percentage. Employers must demonstrate (over any consecutive 12-month period) that compliance with the coverage has increased the premium costs of their health insurance policy by at least 2.5 percent over the course of a calendar year.
This measure, which takes effect Aug. 28, is similar to SB 618 .
Other bills that still await the governor’s signature include measures regarding ethics reform (SB 844 ); adult business regulations (SB 586 ); expanded informed consent provisions for abortion (SB 793 ); college scholarships (SB 733 ); prompt tax returns (HB 1408 ); a ban on “K2” (HB 1472 ); and urban farming (HB 1848 ). The governor has until July 14 to either sign or veto each bill; if he doesn’t lend his signature to any piece of legislation by the deadline, it automatically becomes law.
In other news, the Joint Committee on Legislative Research met on June 8 at the Capitol for its quarterly business meeting. The committee is charged with providing to General Assembly members research services on legislative problems, assistance with any interim legislative committee or commission, and aid in drafting measures, among other duties .
Senate members include Chairman Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles); Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau); Sen. Jack Goodman (R-Mt. Vernon); Sen. Brad Lager (R-Savannah); Sen. Rob Mayer (R-Dexter); Sen. Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City); Sen. Tim Green (D-St. Louis); Sen. Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City); Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence); and Sen. Robin Wright-Jones (D-St. Louis).
Listen to The Senate Minute’s report for this week.
This legislative update is written periodically throughout the interim. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their district, or, when the Legislature is in session, listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom . There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:
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