HB 569-FN - As amended, aka "Connor's Law": clarifying insurance coverage for diagnosis and treatment of pervasive developmental disorder or autismpassed in the New Hampshire State House by a roll call vote of 213-147.
After some delay, the bill went to the Senate of the New Hampshire General Court and on March 3, 2010 was assigned to the Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection Committee. Since that time the legislative website has not shown any movement of HB 569-FN
The purpose of the bill is to clarify existing statute which presumes to cover autism treatment, however claims are commonly denied. A legislative study determined that applied behavior analysis as well as speech and occupational l therapies are necessary services that should be covered, in alignment with American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations; the purpose of HB 569-FN is to clarify that requirement. In other aspects it would not change educational or existing insurance law. While other professions are explicitly identified within the bill, the applied behavior analysis provision was inferred to be under service delivery by "provided by a pervasive developmental disorder or autism service provider"; BACB certificants or other equivalent not referenced.
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For further reading/past blog posts
Connor's Law website
Autism Votes New Hampshire page
LEG. NEWS: New Hampshire autism insurance bill on the calendar for 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG blog
Bill Docket HB 569
The New Hampshire General Court
© 2010 Regina G. Claypool-Frey
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