Its chairman, state Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, has introduced legislation that would require health insurers to cover a variety of treatments for autism prescribed by a physician or psychologist, including medications, psychiatric and psychological care, and treatments that include speech, occupational and physical therapy, as well as “habilitative or rehabilitative” care such as Applied Behavioral Analysis.
A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by state Sen. Edward J. O’Neill, D-North Providence, Pawtucket, and Lincoln. O’Neill’s bill, influenced by Katzman’s experience, also would restructure existing state-financed services for children with autism.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mandate Activity in Rhode Island
The Providence Journal reports on a legislative commission hearing on insurance and autism. Among the witnesses was autism mom Nicole Katzman.
