A day after tempers flared over the issue, dueling chairmen at the Georgia Legislature announced a compromise Thursday to mandate insurance coverage of young children with autism.
The agreement between House Insurance Chairman Richard Smith, R-Columbus, and Senate Insurance and Labor Chairman Charlie Bethel, R-Dalton, sets the stage for passage on an issue that has languished for years at the Capitol — mostly over concerns it hurts small-business owners.
The legislation in a nutshell: Insurers could not exclude coverage for children with autism 6 years and younger; annual payouts would be limited to $30,000; and businesses with 10 or fewer employees would be exempt. Insurers would be exempt from having to cover autism if they could verify it would raise all premiums by more than 1 percent.
Supporters of Bethel's original Senate Bill 1 rejoiced at the news.
“We will always want higher age caps or higher dollar caps or no caps because it is the right thing to do, but what is most important is that children in Georgia will begin having the opportunity to receive medically appropriate treatment,” said Randy Grayson, an advocate and parent of a child with autism.
Because there is only a week left in the legislative session, the mandate won't pass as a stand-alone bill. Instead, on Friday, it will be added to a separate measure — House Bill 429 — that otherwise deals with end-of-life insurance coverage and protection of benefits for people with a terminal diagnosis.
The Senate has wanted the autism coverage but has been stymied by the House — just Wednesday, Smith called it “bad policy” and said he didn’t think it would help enough children because it cut off coverage for those 7 and older. On Thursday, he filed legislation that would let voters decide whether to levy a new fractional state sales tax to provide treatment for all children — birth through age 18 — with autism-related disorders.
Bethel, in turn, pledged support to get that measure passed next year and to voters by the November 2016 ballot. He also agreed to put a “sunset” in the Senate legislation that would repeal the smaller mandate if voters approve the broader coverage proposed by Smith: a constitutional amendment to create a two-tenths of 1 percent sales tax expected to raise between $200 million and $300 million annually.
“I’m not the ogre everybody makes me out to be,” Smith quipped Thursday as he announced the agreement. “To me, this by far is the easiest thing to sell. I won’t have a problem voting for this sales tax increase. Matter of fact, I would like to be first in line at my precinct when we do vote … because when you hear the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) say that autism is epidemic, you know we’ve got a serious problem and I think this is the best way to address this.”
The CDC says about one out of every 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder.
Supporters of the bill cheered the news Thursday, including Anna Bullard, whose 10-year-old daughter Ava inspired the Senate to nickname their measure “Ava’s Law.” Bullard took to Twitter to celebrate, thanking lawmakers for taking a “step forward courageously.”
Not everyone agreed. A “disappointed” Kyle Jackson, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, warned the deal would still increase health insurance premiums across Georgia and said it amounts to “a hidden tax on employers.”
The legislation would not apply to large companies that self-insure employees’ coverage — although many of them, including Home Depot and Georgia Power’s parent, the Southern Co., already provide something similar.
Thirty-eight states, including Florida and South Carolina, require coverage of autism, including behavioral health treatment sought by parents here.
About the Author
