Richmond, Va. — The House of Delegates in Virginia has approved a new legislation that raises the age limit of insurance coverage for children with autism to 10 years old.
The state’s current law only allows for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged two to six years, to be covered by insurance providers in Virginia. The bill’s sponsor, House Delegate Tag Greason of Loudon County, told that families of children with autism are prepared to spend their life savings on their child, in order to help them progress.
The new legislation, House Bill 1940, was approved with 63 House Delegates voting for the bill, while 35 disapproved. Jackson Miller, a House Delegate from Manassas, said that voting on the new legislation was a ‘gut-wrenching’ decision. He told:
“Quite frankly if this were a bill that we were only doing for state government, and it was funded in the budget, I would be voting for it. The problem is that’s not the case. We’re also forcing the private sector to put these mandates into their insurance plans.”
The new bill is now headed to the State Senate of Virginia where it will undergo further review.
Source: Joe Dashiell on the WDBJ 7 news website: Autism legislation clears House of Delegates. House Bill 1940 would raise the age limit on autism insurance mandate