NC to require insurance coverage of autism treatments
April 1st, 2008
Lawyer/law professor Lorri Unumb wrote and successfully lobbied for a bill that will force insurance companies in South Carolina to cover behavioral therapy treatments for children with autism.
The law, known as Ryan’s Law in honor of her son, will go into effect in July. Similar laws have already been passed in Texas and Indiana, and are under consideration in other states.
The insurance industry has opposed the efforts, arguing that they will raise health costs for all. Insurers say that autism therapy should be considered an educational service, and coverage should be considered by school districts.
Our RSS Feed
April 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
I agree with lawmakers and the mother in SC. Coverage for autism should be through health insurance — not the schools.
My son does not go to public school, so does that mean he should not get treatment? I am not willing to put him in public school to get services. We do pay for health insurance, and the therapy he needs is through doctors and therapist — not teachers.
At this time a school cannot diagnosis autism, so I feel they should not treat it. Autism is a brain disorder just like depression. Do we ask school systems to treat depression? Do insurance companies cover depression? Yes they do so why are they discriminating against autism? Because they can.
I hope this will change soon because discrimination should not be legal for any reason.