A bill requiring certain insurance companies provide coverage for a key treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder is on its way to becoming law. Senate Bill 190 spent Thursday in conference committee while Senators and Representatives sought a compromise on their two versions of the bill. Senator Tim Rave says parents, providers, and insurance providers worked to come to a resolution that everyone is happy with.
“I even opened up and allowed testimony which typically you don’t do in a conference committee,” Rave says. “All three groups came up and said they were comfortable with the compromise we had come up with, looking forward into the next year.”
The conference committee restored the bill to the version passed by the Senate State Affairs Committee earlier in the session. It requires coverage of applied behavioral analysis therapy by providers who have a master’s or doctoral degree. It also establishes a workgroup to make recommendations regarding the certification and licensure of ABA therapy providers. Both the House and the Senate voted to adopt the report and send it to the Governor’s desk.