Families from all walks of life, in every corner of Wisconsin have been touched in one way or another by autism. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 150 children nationwide are diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Here in Wisconsin, that number is about 1 in 192.
Two weeks ago in the state Capitol, a significant number of families with autistic children traveled from all corners of the state to share with legislators and government officials the daily struggles they go through and the unique challenges they face. Their mission was more than educational; they were here because of a proposal before the state Legislature to require health insurance companies to cover the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder.
This proposal was included in Governor Doyle's original budget proposal in 2007, but was not included in the final version that passed in October. The idea was reintroduced as separate legislation which passed the state Senate in February.
As my Assembly Republican colleagues and I began to take a closer look at the autism mandate proposal, we relied heavily on the input and experience of two state representatives who have some extraordinary insight on the issue; Rep. Scott Newcomer, R-Hartland, and Kevin Petersen, R-Waupaca, both are parents of autistic children. Like each of the parents who came to visit last week, these two know firsthand the struggles that families with autistic children go through each and every day.
After reviewing the Senate's proposal, both Representatives Newcomer and Petersen felt it was lacking and that there is a better solution.
Interestingly, the Senate proposal only affects about 30 percent of the state's population. That percentage has nothing to do with autism at all, but rather the impact of the proposed mandate itself. About half of all Wisconsin residents get their insurance through employers who self-fund their health insurance plan. These plans are not regulated by the state, but rather the United States Department of Labor. As such, these self-funded plans would not be subject to the requirement included in the Senate bill. Additionally, almost 20 percent of Wisconsin residents are in government programs (Medicare, etc.) that also won't be affected by the mandate.
As with any mandate, this proposal has significant impact in other areas apart from the day-to-day lives of children with autism and their families. The autism mandate backed by the Senate increases taxpayer costs by more than $9 million and drives up the cost of private health care insurance by more than $60 million, an increase on private insurance that would have to be made up by the insurance company itself, the most obvious impact of which would be increases in the cost of insurance across the board.
Rep. Newcomer presented us with a better solution based on Wisconsin's already highly successful Autism Waiver Program. This program was developed to provide in-home intensive therapy for autistic children, differing in each case to best respond to the needs of the individual child. The program is so popular that there are currently about 365 autistic children on the waiting list throughout Wisconsin.
The Assembly's plan, rather than requiring an expensive mandate that only affects 30 percent of the population, instead aims as eliminating that waiting list to allow parents to take advantage of a high-demand, individually tailored program. Under our plan, beginning on July 1, 2008, funding for the state's Autism Waiver Program will be increased by $6.06 million annually to eliminate the statewide waiting list. Our plan also requires doctors to provide the parents of a child who they suspect may be afflicted with an autism spectrum disorder with a treatment plan and any necessary and appropriate referral for further treatment or services, and requires the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to develop and distribute an informational brochure describing the activities that a parent of an autistic child may engage in at home to complement the child's prescribed treatment or individualized education program.
To top it all off, our plan costs one-tenth of the projected costs of the Senate's autism mandate proposal. By listening to the real-life experiences of two of our own state representatives, I believe we have come up with a better solution, one that addresses the needs of individual families rather than increasing the overall cost of health care in Wisconsin to affect only 30 percent of the population.
- Rep. Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, is speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly.
Two weeks ago in the state Capitol, a significant number of families with autistic children traveled from all corners of the state to share with legislators and government officials the daily struggles they go through and the unique challenges they face. Their mission was more than educational; they were here because of a proposal before the state Legislature to require health insurance companies to cover the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder.
This proposal was included in Governor Doyle's original budget proposal in 2007, but was not included in the final version that passed in October. The idea was reintroduced as separate legislation which passed the state Senate in February.
As my Assembly Republican colleagues and I began to take a closer look at the autism mandate proposal, we relied heavily on the input and experience of two state representatives who have some extraordinary insight on the issue; Rep. Scott Newcomer, R-Hartland, and Kevin Petersen, R-Waupaca, both are parents of autistic children. Like each of the parents who came to visit last week, these two know firsthand the struggles that families with autistic children go through each and every day.
After reviewing the Senate's proposal, both Representatives Newcomer and Petersen felt it was lacking and that there is a better solution.
Interestingly, the Senate proposal only affects about 30 percent of the state's population. That percentage has nothing to do with autism at all, but rather the impact of the proposed mandate itself. About half of all Wisconsin residents get their insurance through employers who self-fund their health insurance plan. These plans are not regulated by the state, but rather the United States Department of Labor. As such, these self-funded plans would not be subject to the requirement included in the Senate bill. Additionally, almost 20 percent of Wisconsin residents are in government programs (Medicare, etc.) that also won't be affected by the mandate.
As with any mandate, this proposal has significant impact in other areas apart from the day-to-day lives of children with autism and their families. The autism mandate backed by the Senate increases taxpayer costs by more than $9 million and drives up the cost of private health care insurance by more than $60 million, an increase on private insurance that would have to be made up by the insurance company itself, the most obvious impact of which would be increases in the cost of insurance across the board.
Rep. Newcomer presented us with a better solution based on Wisconsin's already highly successful Autism Waiver Program. This program was developed to provide in-home intensive therapy for autistic children, differing in each case to best respond to the needs of the individual child. The program is so popular that there are currently about 365 autistic children on the waiting list throughout Wisconsin.
The Assembly's plan, rather than requiring an expensive mandate that only affects 30 percent of the population, instead aims as eliminating that waiting list to allow parents to take advantage of a high-demand, individually tailored program. Under our plan, beginning on July 1, 2008, funding for the state's Autism Waiver Program will be increased by $6.06 million annually to eliminate the statewide waiting list. Our plan also requires doctors to provide the parents of a child who they suspect may be afflicted with an autism spectrum disorder with a treatment plan and any necessary and appropriate referral for further treatment or services, and requires the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) to develop and distribute an informational brochure describing the activities that a parent of an autistic child may engage in at home to complement the child's prescribed treatment or individualized education program.
To top it all off, our plan costs one-tenth of the projected costs of the Senate's autism mandate proposal. By listening to the real-life experiences of two of our own state representatives, I believe we have come up with a better solution, one that addresses the needs of individual families rather than increasing the overall cost of health care in Wisconsin to affect only 30 percent of the population.
- Rep. Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, is speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly.
