Pierre, SD – The parents of children with ASD have helped to expand a bill that would result in an increase of coverage for specific behavioural therapy treatments offered throughout the state.
On Wednesday, the House of State Affairs Committee voted to approve the amendment which would ultimately mandate the coverage, resulting in a 30% increase of insurance plans in South Dakota. The proposal would thus augment the payments made for children diagnosed with ASD who are between the ages of 0-6 significantly. Additionally, it would expand coverage of hands-on providers which would subsequently increase the amount of therapists that it will include under the new stipulations.
The proposal had experienced several setbacks and some believe that the expanded version of the provision could ultimately render it too broad, potentially resulting in its failure to be made into law. However ultimately, the therapy provided under the adjusted bill will serve children who would receive invaluable behavioural intervention services at an age when it has been scientifically proven to be most effective.
Crystal Reuter, the mother of a 6 year old with severe ASD, echoes the sentiment arguing that therapy greatly improved her daughter’s prognosis and that the bill simply needed a “little bit more” in order to do the same for other children on the spectrum.
Source: James Nord on The State website: SD panel approves plan for autism therapy insurance coverage