(TRENTON) – The Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance
Committee will hold a special hearing Thursday to hear from families and discuss
concerns that insurance companies are denying health care coverage for the
treatment of autism despite a state law that requires them to do so.
New
Jersey has one of the highest autism rates in the country. The
state passed a law in 2010 that requires health plans run or regulated by the
state to cover autism therapies, but many families with autistic children
continue to fight their insurance providers for coverage. In one case reported
by the Star Ledger last summer, a Verona family spent their savings and
mortgaged their house to pay for years of behavioral therapy for their son who
was diagnosed with a form of autism as a toddler. They spent thousands more in
legal fees in order to convince their provider to cover the treatment.
“The
challenges that these children and their families face are formidable,” said
Gary S. Schaer (D-Bergen/Passaic), who chairs the committee. “Parents with
autistic children have enough on their plate. Their energies should be solely
focused on the well-being of their children, not wasted fighting their insurance
providers to cover treatments that they are obligated to cover under New Jersey
law.”
The hearing will
take place on Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 11, Fourth
Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, New Jersey.
The
committee will hear testimony from experts and parents who have experienced this
problem. The Department of Banking and Insurance, the Division of Pension and
Benefits and organizations involved in providing health insurance in the state
have also been invited to testify.
The
committee will also hear the following bills:
|
A-3519 Green/ N.
Munoz/ Stender/Bramnick
|
Establishes
compensation limits for licensed public adjusters during certain
emergencies.
|
|
A-3731
Schaer/Eustace/Kean
|
“Certificates of
Insurance Act.”
|
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