What is Nick's Law.....

Recently Oklahoma has been making national news as a group of parents and advocates have worked tirelessly to have Nick's Law considered for passage into law by our state legislature. In case you haven't kept up with the debate...here is a brief overview to catch you up!

FACTS:
Autism is the fasting growing developmental disability in the US. The CDC reports the prevalence at 1 out of 150 children are currently being diagnosed on the autism spectrum. In Oklahoma, more than 2,025 children between 3 and 21 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are enrolled in Special Education in our public schools....a 60% increase in just three years.

There is no known cure for autism, yet early, intensive, structured behavioral therapies have proven effective in helping children gain intellectual functioning and progress educationally.

PROBLEM:
Most private health insurance plans do not cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder, leaving many parents to rely on government-sponsored services, including extensive school-based services.

Parents often end up paying for therapies out of their own pockets, creating an immense financial burden. Without the negotiating powers of an insurance company behind them, parents can spend tens of thousands of dollars per year on services, in addition to their insurance premiums!

Oklahoma’s high-risk pool contains the very same exclusions: services to treat autism are specifically excluded from coverage.


PLEASE CONSIDER THIS:
Eighteen other states have passed similar legislation. Since 2001, when Indiana passed such a law, there have been NO premium increases linked to the coverage and NO increase in the numbers of uninsured in that state!

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (the industry’s own policy organization) reports that autism insurance coverage would increase costs by less than 1 percent.

Nick’s Law calls for private insurance to cover these services, when prescribed by a physician as part of a treatment plan, with a $75,000 annual cap on behavioral therapies.

Private insurance coverage of these type items would save public taxpayer dollars.

Members of the House of Representatives are currently considering this law. Please contact your local Representative and Speaker Benge and speak out on this issue. Please identify yourself as a provider or otherwise friend to a person with autism. They need to hear from a wider circle of constituents. They need to know that this issue is bigger than just us. They need to hear about Nick’s Law. Thank you for caring about our children.

Sincerely,
Oklahoma Parents of Children with Autism

Nick’s Law is part of the 2008 Legislative Agenda for Children. For more information, contact Anne Roberts at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, 405 / 236-KIDS, or aroberts@oica.org.


Address:
Speaker of the House Chris Benge
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N. Lincoln - Rm 432D
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 557-7340