Recently, Autism Speaks officially endorsed New York state legislation aimed to end insurance discrimination against autistic individuals. The bill would require private insurance companies to not only cover screening for autism spectrum disorders, but any therapy that has been proven effective for autism treatment.
This bill is pretty groundbreaking. It would make a huge change to insurance laws regarding autism, however Autism Speaks could be doing a lot more to promote the New York bill, and campaigning for other states to alter their insurance laws.
The main priorities of Autism Speaks is to raise awareness about the disorder and to gain money for research. Autism research is thriving, in part because of effective campaigns about the prevalence of autism in today's society. (Though this is debatable based on the the transient definition of autism.)
However, autism is not going to be cured any time soon, and while the research is working on solutions, it is essential that groups like Autism Speaks attempt to alter laws that discriminate against individuals with this disorder. The fact that some insurance companies won't cover speech therapy for people with autism, but will cover it for people with 'real' disorders like cerebral palsy, is not fair. Laws must be changed while we wait for results from research. Although the Autism Speaks subgroup- Autism Votes is dedicated to legislation, there needs to be more public awareness about the insurance issues related to autism.
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WHoever said insurance companies were fair? Is focusing on legislators a good strategy? how about direct action against the insurnce industry? what about the courts? All SC groups are met with this dilemma--limited resources and a huge agenda--at times it seems like you are banging your head against the wall. given limited resources the group must select the most efficacious ways of achieving its goals. has your group done this?
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