Families in Virginia fought hard to pass a state bill that would require health insurance companies to cover the medical services of autistic children.
But today, that bill was killed in the state Senate.
According to the Washington Post, Virginia state Senators couldn’t come up with compromise. Business and health insurance groups also lobbied hard against the passage.
Lobbyists argued the bill was a bad idea during an economic recession, and would impose an expensive mandate.
One lobbyist estimated the mandate would cost $40 million a year for the state.
“It would probably become the second most expensive mandate in Virginia, and maybe the first, ” said the lobbyist.
Initially, the bill included all autistic children. After no progress, state Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel tried to compromise by capping the age at 12, then even at 6 years old. Still, the bill failed.
It brings up a key debate in the world of health insurance — should autistic children have guaranteed health insurance coverage?
Already, there’s a Florida health insurance law that mandates coverage for autism (read more about it here), and Ohio is considering a similar law as well.