By Rick Pluta
The Legislature has sent Governor Rick Snyder a package of bills that would require health insurance plans to offer coverage for childhood autism treatments.
Governor Snyder called for the autism mandate in his State of the State address.
Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has a daughter with autism. He said the case can be made for extending the mandate to other mental health disorders, but autism was a good place to start.
"Autism is the only physical or mental health diagnosis excluded from 100 percent of all policies in the state of Michigan. There's no other physical or mental health diagnosis that's anywhere near the exclusion autism has."
Calley said the requirement will save taxpayers money because more children with autism will grow to live independently instead of requiring government assistance.
But on the same day, the Legislature sent him the bills, a state Senate committee eliminated funding in his Medicaid budget for treating autism.
Copyright 2010, MPRN
The Legislature has sent Governor Rick Snyder a package of bills that would require health insurance plans to offer coverage for childhood autism treatments.
Governor Snyder called for the autism mandate in his State of the State address.
Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has a daughter with autism. He said the case can be made for extending the mandate to other mental health disorders, but autism was a good place to start.
"Autism is the only physical or mental health diagnosis excluded from 100 percent of all policies in the state of Michigan. There's no other physical or mental health diagnosis that's anywhere near the exclusion autism has."
Calley said the requirement will save taxpayers money because more children with autism will grow to live independently instead of requiring government assistance.
But on the same day, the Legislature sent him the bills, a state Senate committee eliminated funding in his Medicaid budget for treating autism.
Copyright 2010, MPRN