DETROIT, Mich. – Autism experts and parents said today at the second of four public hearings that Michigan should join the 22 other states that require health insurers to cover treatment for autism, a complex medical condition that affects an estimated 15,000 Michigan children.
Autism robs children of the ability to communicate, learn and relate to others. It is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Yet Michigan health insurers don’t cover treatment, considering it experimental.
“It’s a full-blown tragedy that fewer than 20 percent of Michigan’s children with autism are receiving access to therapies and services,” said David Meador, executive vice president and CFO of DTE Energy, the parent of a child with autism and co-founder of Autism Alliance of Michigan. “We are creating ‘lost years’ for those children with autism living in households without the means to pay for treatment,” he said at the hearing at the Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
Research shows autism treatment holds great promise, especially with early detection and intensive intervention such as speech, occupational, physical and behavioral health therapies. But the cost of treatment can be as high as $50,000 annually.
The bipartisan hearings, spurred by a growing effort to mandate that insurers offer autism coverage, are being led by Sens. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, and Tupac A. Hunter,
D-Detroit. Future hearings are planned in Grand Rapids and Lansing. The first hearing was May 24 at Eastern Michigan University.
“As we gather more information, we’re getting a much better picture of what Michigan families are facing,” Richardville said. “The burdens – emotional and financial – are crushing.”
Hunter said families already suffering amid the state’s economic downturn are especially hurt: “The last thing families with children who have autism need to hear is that treatment is available but they can’t have it because they can’t afford it.”
Autism insurance reform laws have been enacted in 22 states. It’s estimated that if Michigan joined the move, taxpayers could save anywhere from $14 billion to $28 billion in lifetime costs for the care of the current population of children with autism.
DTE Energy is among a group of companies with self-funded insurance plans that voluntarily extend autism benefits to employees.
“We strongly believe that it’s not only the right thing to do to for our employees and their families, but it also makes strong economic sense,” said Anthony Earley, chairman and CEO of DTE. “Without access to medically proven autism therapies, families suffer from stress and exhaustion, there is a higher level of lost productivity in the workplace and a higher rate of divorce. The human benefits to autism treatment cannot be overstated and the economic benefits are just the icing on the cake.”
Peter Bell, executive vice president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said the climate is ripe for change.
“Without desperately needed and justifiable insurance reform, Michigan taxpayers will be forced to continue to shoulder the bill for those children with autism,” Bell said.
Detroit Tigers broadcaster Jim Price also testified. He and his wife Lisa are parents of a son with autism and cofounded Jack’s Place for Autism.
“We are limiting the future for our children with autism, as well as crippling the families that love and support them,” Price said. “Time is of the essence as we know that early intervention can make the utmost difference in their lives.”
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Contact: Sharon Emery, 517- 896-7075 (c), 517-487-9320, semery@rossmangroup.com
