Comments on: The Autism Bill: Negative Outcomes From Good Intentions

By: State Policy Blog » Blog Archive » Who’s Slicing My Pie?

State Policy Blog » Blog Archive » Who’s Slicing My Pie? — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:15:47 +0000

[...] am all in favor of eliminating government mandates, whether it be in health care, energy, or any other area in which the government attempts to control the market, but the removal [...]

By: Caitlin.Hartsell

Caitlin.Hartsell — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:03:33 +0000

I’m sorry about the financial situation that your daughter’s autism put you in, and I really do sympathize. I do not have daily contact with autistic children, but I do have close family members with other conditions and diseases, like cerebal palsy, juvenile arthritis and lupus. I do know that these sorts of diseases can be financially disastrous, and I don’t think that’s a good thing.

The problem is that mandates do more harm then good. If we mandate coverage for cerebal palsy, but do not mandate coverage for autism, juvenile arthritis and lupus, then it becomes more expensive for everyone else, especially those who do not receive a mandate privilege. Some people will lose their health insurance entirely over the difference. The better solution–even though it may not be entirely evident– is to increase transparency and competition so that some health insurance companies have to cater to the niche autism-spectrum disorders market.

Health Savings Accounts are great for expensive diseases– my twin was diagnosed with lupus 5 years ago, but we were lucky enough to have an HSA and that was manageable. Once you’ve paid the high deductible, the insurance part kicks in. HSAs, in large scale, would be a great way to cover autism treatment.

If that is still not sufficient, I would next consider expanding the Medicaid voucher program, as it could be a more cost-effective way to cover the treatment. It already covers families far above the poverty level, but increasing that income level might be a more effective solution than mandating health insurance coverage.

I am not advocating that a person go into financial ruin over health care; I just believe mandates are not the solution.

By: Michelle O'Day

Michelle O'Day — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:52:42 +0000

Ms Hartsell,
I must ask, are you in contact with a child that has autism daily? I must say by your comments you are not so there for I will gladly let you know that this year alone more children will be diagnosed with autism than cancer, diabetes, Downs Syndrome and AIDS combined. I am a proud mother of an autistic 3yr old daughter and tend to get very loud when I hear people stating their opinion when they do not have any personal connection to what they are talking about. I would suggest to you to maybe sponsor an autistic child for a year and take them through all their treatments and therapies. We will see where you stand then when it comes to your personal money being forked out. My husband and I have worked very hard for what we have earned throughout our 11 years of marriage, nice house on the lake, 2 nice SUVs paid for, carefree getaways every 6months, but at this moment we are looking at renting out OUR house we worked so hard for and moving in with the mother-in-law, only because we are working hard on recovering OUR daughter from autism. Althought I wouldn’t change any of it for the world, it was not her choice to have autism, she did not come into this world with autism, but you know what she is slowly back to us. We have poured all of our savings and earnings into getting her back and its working. But yet me being a smoker, if I get lung cancer, my insurance is going to cover it if I need a new lung…tell me where that makes sense…It was MY choice to smoke. So for you to say that we should “open the insurance market to further competition” you are wrong…and just to let you also know that WE do not qualify for Medicaid because WE make TOO much and as for the nonprofit private school…please show me where one is in my area. Like I said maybe you should go get in contact with one of the families that is part of the statistics of 1 in 91 children..

By: DaveG

DaveG — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:00:08 +0000

Children have been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum for decades. This is not an issue that has only been around for a couple years. This Bill is not a knee-jerk reaction. I am all for the open market to take care of this situation, but until then I am glad the state of Missouri forced the hands of the insurance companies.

Also, all the statistics and dollars provided appear to be worst case scenarios. I wonder how it will all truly shake out…

By: Caitlin Hartsell

Caitlin Hartsell — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:31:59 +0000

I agree, Ron, but mandates are not the solution. As I said in the blog post, there are a plethora of potential diseases, many of which can be financially devastating. It would be near impossible to cover all without significantly increasing the cost of health insurance (and forcing many people off of their plans, essentially.) By mandating coverage of some, like autism, it makes insurance more expensive for everyone, including those people whose diseases or conditions are not covered. The real solution is to increase competition by putting the spending decisions in the hands of the patient and their family– insurance companies are then forced to respond and provide necessary coverage in a way that they do not under the current employer-health insurance model.

By: ron

ron — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:18:12 +0000

Ms hartsell – you make some valid points in your case however i think the main issue is of discrimination- why do we choose to cover children with diabetes or heart defect or obeisty but say to a children with asd – sorry you need not apply ?

Just cover it like every other medical condition ?