Jindal signs autism coverage bill
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A bill that requires many state businesses to offer health insurance coverage for children with autism was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The measure, House Bill 958, won easy approval in the 2008 regular legislative session, which ended June 23.
Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social skills.
The legislation requires health insurance coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism disorders in children under age 17.
The benefits could not exceed $36,000 per year and $144,00 per lifetime.
One treatment to deal with extreme behavior changes in children with autism costs between $40,000 and $60,000 per year.
State employees would be eligible for the coverage for their children through the office that offers health insurance.
Businesses with 50 or fewer employees would be exempt from the law. Policies individually written and guaranteed to be renewable also would be excluded.
The law applies to policies issued or renewed after Jan. 1, 2009.
The chief sponsor of the bill was Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge and the father of a son with autism.
“It really opens the doors for families who have autistic children who need expensive health services to potentially get those services,” Foil said Wednesday.
Jindal also signed:
The measure, House Bill 958, won easy approval in the 2008 regular legislative session, which ended June 23.
Autism is a complex brain disorder that inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social skills.
The legislation requires health insurance coverage of the diagnosis and treatment of autism disorders in children under age 17.
The benefits could not exceed $36,000 per year and $144,00 per lifetime.
One treatment to deal with extreme behavior changes in children with autism costs between $40,000 and $60,000 per year.
State employees would be eligible for the coverage for their children through the office that offers health insurance.
Businesses with 50 or fewer employees would be exempt from the law. Policies individually written and guaranteed to be renewable also would be excluded.
The law applies to policies issued or renewed after Jan. 1, 2009.
The chief sponsor of the bill was Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge and the father of a son with autism.
“It really opens the doors for families who have autistic children who need expensive health services to potentially get those services,” Foil said Wednesday.
Jindal also signed:
- House Bill 1287, which uses money left over from the financial year that ended Monday for a wide range of expenses. That list includes state payments to the New Orleans Saints football team, New Orleans Hornets basketball team, and various projects in legislators’ districts.
- Senate Bill 749, which would close the struggling Jetson Youth Center in 2009. Jetson is a juvenile facility that houses about 200 offenders.
- House Bill 1174, which provides operating dollars for the Louisiana Supreme Court and other state courts for the financial year that began Tuesday.
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