[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S10912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 AUTISM

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following 
op-ed article written by Doug Flutie and printed in the Boston Globe on 
October 17, 2009, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Massachusetts may have the best health care in the country, 
     but it doesn't cover the treatment for the fastest-growing 
     health threat to children--autism. Autism affects brain 
     function and impairs communication, social interaction, and 
     sensory modulation skills. The most recent statistics show 
     that 1 in 91 children has autism, with the incidence four 
     times as high in boys. More than 500 babies born this year in 
     Massachusetts will soon be diagnosed with autism. What their 
     parents will learn first--what my wife, Laurie, and I have 
     learned from our son Dougie--is that while the hopes and 
     dreams for their child may change, they will also intensify. 
     Parents will learn that, with early intervention, children 
     with autism can make significant strides--a fact backed up by 
     extensive studies. They'll find that their pediatricians and 
     neurologists will prescribe intense one-on-one speech, 
     occupational, physical, and behavioral therapies. And then 
     they'll be dismayed to discover that, though they've always 
     paid their health care premiums, their health plans will not 
     cover these services.
       Why don't health plans cover treatments for the fastest-
     growing health threat to children? There is a contradiction 
     between the role of schools versus that of medicine and 
     health plans. Federal law stipulates that schools provide 
     services necessary to allow all children to ``access the 
     curriculum.'' While critical to helping children with autism 
     excel in the classroom, this in no way replaces their need 
     for therapy to improve long-term brain functioning--not only 
     to get through an average day, but to lay the foundation for 
     the rest of their lives. School superintendents are powerful 
     in asking health plans to step up to ensure that children 
     with autism, like all others, are sent to school ready to 
     learn. They expect health plans to provide glasses to 
     students with poor eyesight, or even chemotherapy to children 
     with cancer, so they have every right to expect that children 
     with autism will receive out-of-school autism therapy. 
     Foundations like The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism 
     and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts work hard to fill 
     the gaps in services and opportunities for children with 
     autism. We also work to make up for the absence of the lead 
     player in supporting the treatment of any medical condition: 
     health plans.
       In the health plans' absence, parents are left to pay 
     privately or see their children go without autism therapies.
       Those of us who can afford it (comfortably or through 
     extreme means) see the incredible difference these services 
     make in our children's ability to communicate, learn, 
     function as part of the family and the community, and simply 
     stay safe.
       Those who can't afford it face the pain of being unable to 
     give their child services proven to radically improve their 
     developmental outlook.
       Autism coverage isn't just the right thing; it's the 
     financially smart thing. This coverage will cost just $2.28 
     per member per month. Alternatively, the average lifetime 
     cost for an adult with autism is estimated at $3.2 million. 
     Research shows that with effective early intensive 
     intervention up to 47 percent of individuals can lead 
     independent lives without state-funded supports. 
     Additionally, they will each make an estimated $1.7 million 
     contribution as taxpayers, bringing the actual savings of 
     autism coverage per person to $4.9 million. While not all 
     individuals will achieve this outcome, even moderate gains 
     result in significant savings to taxpayers.
       The Legislature is considering a bill that requires health 
     plans to treat autism as a medical condition and pay for its 
     treatments. Fifteen states have already passed similar 
     legislation. This state needs to join them in ending 
     insurance discrimination against people with autism.

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