Comments about ‘Autism insurance bill tentatively passes Senate’

Sen. Christensen needs to take a course on childhood diseases and realize that if he is not willing to fund properly and insure that all children receive adequete healthcare, then maybe he should also save the State of Utah other countless millions of dollars by not insuring children (and others) with cancer, diabetes, and any other disease he can think of. A child in Utah (and anywhere in this country) is more likely to develop autism than cancer or diabetes! A sobering statistic, that he (Sen. Christensen) and his colleagues can take a stance on and help those with the least ability to fight. Kudos to those senators who are willing to insure that more children can live a more normal life!!

I don't understand the issue around autism. I thought it was a form of neuro transmitters in the brain that didn't function properly. What kind of therapy would be used to cure a person with autism?

confused- Your kind of right, autism is a complex neurological disorder that ranges in severity of symptoms. through some evidence based therapies these symptoms can be relieved or managed in many cases. the patient isn't cured but instead learns to overcome their deficits.

I sympathise greatly for parents of autistic children, but must distinguish between life threatening disease such as cancer, and quality of life issues like autism. There is no Santa Claus to make money appear magically to care for autistic children. When government intervenes in the market, and mandates that the marketplace has to provide coverage for this weeks feel good fad, it kills the economy. For those living under a rock:"Its the economy, stupid". So, we should be looking for ways to cut back on government mandates and government spending. The cost of medical insurance is substantially higher than it needs to be precisely because of bills like this that mandate all sorts of coverage. This is akin to forcing everyone to buy Ferrari's with all of the options, and preventing Kias and Volkswagons from entering the marketplace.

Conclusion:
Eliminate the government mandates, and save on health insurance. (maybe even enough to provide care for your own autistic child!)

While something ought to be done. This bill in effect will tax those that have insurance in an effort to save the general fund money. If you have been following this bill, it is intended to save the tax payers money by treating these autistic kids so that they can lead normal lives, rather than having them receive disability money for the rest of their lives.

Since this is an effort to save tax payers money in the long term why isn't it being spread out among all taxpayers? Isn't that redistribution of wealth, doesn't it in effect create 2 classes of citizens?

Actually, there are some "cures" available, but only for comorbid affects that commonly appear with autism. One device is a computer program called FastForWord that can help with auditory processing, so where they can't hear differences in sound...after the program (for most) they can hear and then read...few months vs. several years of special education.

Also, there are devices at the U and other universities where brain computer chips are implanted to tell the brain to be less anxious (which causes stress and avoidance of interaction with people). They can also be used for reducing seizures, for kids with PANDAS and other Autism seizure disorders. They signal the brain not to fire off a seizure!

They are also working on these same devices to help with dopamine and seratonin levels for depression.

Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
By Daniel J. DeNoon
Feb. 19- The FDA approved use of an implanted brain device for patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This is essentially like a pacemaker for the brain. There is an electrode implanted in brain...attached to a generator that is also implanted in the body. Doctors have control of the electrical stimulation.

As the parent of a "mentally handicapped" 29 year old daughter I have to wonder why should Autism be singled out? Speech and physical therapy dramatically help many disabled children. I could never afford the physical therapy needed. I was lucky to get into a universtiy program for speech therapy where they literally built my daughters language word by word. The public school system is over-loaded and not funded for the needs of these children. A little does not go a long way! I feel sorry for parents of those diagnosed "Autistic". The road is long and hard, and expensive -- for all families of children with dissabilities.

The purpose of health insurance is that everyone pays into it so that when you have a need there are resources you can turn to. We have been gladly paying in to health insurance plans for the last 25
years so that other people can get help for their children who get cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other ailments.
Why are we now prohibited from being able to turn to health insurance when we have a need to help our son. Eight states have already past legislation requiring health insurance companies to cover autism and the increased cost per plan has been fairly minimal - less than 1% to the average policy.