Autism reform bill passes both Senate committees

Lawmakers on Wednesday passed a watered-down version of an autism insurance reform bill that now goes to the full Senate floor for a vote.

Senate Bill 2581 was identical to a measure that had sailed through the House Insurance Committee on Tuesday. Both would require health insurance policies to cover autism treatment, and specifically Applied Behavior Analysis, for children in Mississippi.

Original versions of both bills would have covered children from birth to age 21, but the age was shortened – from 2-8 years old – before either committee voted.

While the House committee passed its bill without amendments, the Senate Insurance Committee appears to have made autism coverage optional by changing the word "provide" to "offer." It also put a "reverse repealer" on the bill, which means it cannot become law without further debate.

"We have questions that need to be answered," said Insurance Committee Chairman Videt Carmichael, R-Meridian after the meeting.

Also passing the altered bill was the Senate Business and Financial Institutions Committee. Its chairman, state Sen. Gary Jackson, R-French Camp, acknowledged receiving numerous emails from bill supporters, as had Carmichael.

Several supporters also attended both committee meetings and some privately expressed disappointment afterward about the amendments.

Backed by Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and more than two dozen lawmakers, the measures also would create the Mississippi Autism Board to issue and revoke ABA licenses, investigate potential violations, and generally regulate the profession.

"We feel like this is a really good bill," said state Sen. Rita Parks, R-Corinth, who filed the Senate version. "We worked really hard from last year to this year. A lot of homework was done. We talked with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicaid, Insurance. They like this bill."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi does support the bill, confirmed company spokeswoman Meredith Virden Bailess. She also said BCBS, which is Mississippi's largest health insurer and manages the state employee health insurance plan, started covering autism ABA treatments this year for children up to age 8.

Medicaid also covers some autism services, said spokeswoman Erin Barham, adding that "the licensure portion of the legislation would aide us in ensuring that these children receive high-quality, clinically appropriate services from providers trained in autism specific interventions."

Richard Self, the state insurance administrator, said his group neither supports nor opposes the proposed legislation.

An estimated 10,174 Mississippi children are living with autism, according to the Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee.

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