Kudos to lawmakers on autism bill

Imagine that a family member of yours has a health or mental health issue, but the insurance company won't pay for a diagnosis. Perhaps insurance will pay for the diagnosis, but won't cover treatment. Now imagine therapy is necessary to improve their condition, but the insurance company won't pay for it. This was the situation many families with children with autism found themselves in.

The Centers for Disease Control posits that 1 in 150 children born now will be on the autism spectrum. Some estimates put the lifetime medical costs of raising a child with autism at $5 million. Many families pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to pay for therapies their insurance would not cover. This would be a large financial burden for any family. Despite the car crash of Illinois State government, some accomplishments were made in 2008. One was the passing of an Autism Insurance bill, sponsored by State Senator James DeLeo. Now families affected by autism have insurance coverage up to $36,000 per year for diagnosis through therapy.

The legislation passed overwhelmingly; however, because I Iive in Aurora, I must thank our own three legislators. Senator Linda Holmes not only voted for the legislation, but was a sponsor of the bill. Representative Linda Chap LaVia has been a consistent friend of the developmentally disabled. Senator Chris Lauzen has been a consistent yes vote for autism legislation as well as being good for a personal phone call explaining his reasoning. This new law will help thousands of families affected by autism. For those who have children or loved ones with autism, please call your state representative and senator and thank them for passing this legislation.

Dean Myles

Aurora