Surprising, I know, but there is now something that Assemblyman James Settelmeyer and I agree upon.

The State Assembly passed Assemblyman Ohrenschall’s AB162 this week. This bill requires insurers to cover early diagnosis treatment for children diagnosed with autism, up to $36,000 per year. The early treatment works wonders to improve the quality of life for children struggling with autism, and this bill promises relief for their families.

“This is a huge victory, not only for families, but for all Nevadans,” Speaker Barbara Buckley announced to reporters.

However, she conveniently failed to mention that “All Nevadans” does not mean…well… “All Nevadans.”

Thanks to amendment 433, the committee, citing concerns over cost, has excluded the children of state employees and medicaid recipients; indeed, these are the very families that need this coverage the most. Medicaid recipients, by the very nature of the Medicaid program, are a hair’s breadth away from economic disaster anyway. A diagnosis of autism in their child can financially wipe them out for the rest of their lives.

Although supporting the concept of the bill, Gardnerville’s Assemblyman James Settelmeyer spoke on the floor decrying the watered-down version which excludes these neediest of families. He pointed out that all families should be covered:  “I felt that the state should not be treating its employees any differently. Their children with autism count, as well.”

I wholeheartedly agree. This is insurance reform that our society desperately needs. The original bill was an astounding bit of progressive legislation in a traditionally non-progressive state, and it treated all autistic children as created equal. This amended bill is sort of like the Titanic: there weren’t enough lifeboats to save everyone, and the wealthy got to use the ones that existed. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: autism, insurance, legislature, Politics, settelmeyer