Autism insurance bill passes Senate floor

Legislation extending autism insurance coverage to children passed the Senate floor on Thursday despite heated opposition by a handful of Tea Party conservatives.

Senate Bill 2581 won the vote by 39-6. It requires health insurance policies to offer coverage for autism treatment like Applied Behavior Analysis for children ages 2-8. It also regulates the practice of ABA therapy and requires providers obtain state licenses.

Some, though, argued the state shouldn't tell private insurers what to cover and questioned why autism should get special recognition. Led by state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, opponents took turns grilling the bill's main sponsor for roughly a half hour.

They asked why the state shouldn't also mandate health insurers cover obesity, diabetes and Attention Deficit Disorder. They asked why not let the free market decide for itself what to cover. And they likened the measure to Obamacare.

"This is totally getting out of hand," said state Sen. Rita Parks, R-Corinth, who introduced the bill on the floor, after a round of such questions.

McDaniel said he cares about children with autism and agreed the state should do something, but said SB 2581 takes the wrong approach.

State Sen. Will Longwitz, R-Madison, wasn't buying it.

"I would ask you today if we're going to have an ideological battle," he said, "let's not do it at the expense of children with autism."

Joining McDaniel in voting against the measure were Republican Sens. Eugene Clarke, R-Hollandale, Angela Hill, R-Picayune, Tony Smith, R-Poplarville, Melanie Sojourner, R-Natchez, and Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula.

An almost identical version of the legislation, House Bill 885, unanimously passed the House floor in January. It's only difference is that instead of saying health insurance plans must "offer" autism treatment coverage, it says they must "provide" it.

Both bills, which have widespread support from Republicans and Democrats, now go to the opposite chambers for consideration.

One in 68 children have autism, and it's four times more prevalent in boys than in girls, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 10,000 children in Mississippi are living with the disorder, which causes mild-to-profound deficits in language and socialization.

There is no known cure, but research has shown that early and repeated access to ABA therapy can lessen -- and in some cases eliminate -- the most debilitating effects of the disorder.

But because few parents can afford the out-of-pocket costs of ABA therapy, few providers locate in Mississippi. Insurance reform, such has been adopted by 38 other states, would remedy that situation, experts say.

Lawmakers have received numerous emails, phone calls and letters from parents and others in support of the bill, including this one by Daniel L. Gadke of Mississippi State University (below):

In other legislative action on Tuesday:

The GOP-led House, through an amendment, voted Tuesday to postpone for a year the "third-grade reading gate," a measure passed in 2013 that would prevent third-graders who don't read proficiently from being promoted to fourth grade. House Bill 745, which would have allowed some students with disabilities to be promoted, was amended by Rep. Lataisha Jackson, D-Como, to exempt all students from the reading gate for a year. Seven Republicans helped the amendment pass, drawing the ire of Gov. Phil Bryant, an ardent supporter of the reading gate. The measure is likely to come back for a revote. "With votes like this, it is little wonder that Mississippi's public education system has been an abysmal failure," Bryant said.

The Senate passed Senate Bill 2258, which gives the state Board of Education more power to investigate allegations of cheating on statewide assessments and establishes criminal penalties for educators found guilty of such violations. It also allows the state to make guilty districts pay the costs of investigations.

The Senate passed a measure which revises the membership of the state's contract review board to eliminate state agency leaders from serving and replaces them with appointments by the governor and lieutenant governor. Senate Bill 2553 also has provisions for more oversight of the board's actions.

The House voted 81-38 to scrap the Regimented Inmate Discipline program in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg, said there is evidence the program is ineffective in reducing recidivism, with data showing a 41.9 percent rate for RID inmates, compared to 37.8 percent for overall inmates.

Contact Emily Le Coz at (601) 961-7249 or elecoz@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @emily_lecoz on Twitter.