Wisconsin Health Insurance, New Programs

By: EconomyWatch Content Team   Date: 3 February 2010

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The future of Wisconsin health insurance took a new turn last year when Governor Doyle ratified an emergency law guaranteeing insurance coverage for autism patients. Autism is a rare developmental disorder that disconnects the individual from the environment, marked with communication disorders, short attention span and inability to treat others as people. Autism is incurable but can be treated. It impacts 1 in 150 children in US and has become a pressing concern for worried parents.

In Wisconsin, health insurance did not cover most of autism treatments, putting a lot of financial strain on families with autistic children. Wisconsin autism activists and lawmakers fought this battle for many years, about getting adequate health insurance for treatments of this order, but to no avail. Treatment costs usually exceeded $6000 a year and therefore most insurance companies, upon discovering an autism case in the family, simply refused to extend insurance coverage.

Fifteen-year-old Robbie is no exception. He is autistic and lives in Waukesha with parents. Every year, his parents spend an enormous amount on his routine therapies such as behavior therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, ranging from $7000 to $9000.  But in spite of this, Robbie's father says, "With your child, you're willing to do almost anything to help them be better." For Robbie and his family, the new Wisconsin heath insurance policies are particularly heartwarming.

Thus, when Governor Doyle led the battle for extending Wisconsin health insurance to autism patients, it represented a great victory for autism activists and lawmakers. Now that the idea has gained ground and legislators of both parties support this cause, advocates heave a sigh of relief. But critics, although few, argue that providing coverage in this way will send the rates skyrocketing. However, with Democrats leading the battle in the forefront, autism has become everyone's top priority.  Moreover, according to polls released by independent organization " Wisconsin Autism Insurance Now", 85% of Wisconsin residents supported the idea of a new law that would cover treatment for autisms. The polls also showed that this support emerged from a broad section of society comprising all age groups and income levels.

The law mandates an annual funding of $50,000 for intensive treatment and another $25,000 for the non-intensive ones. Although the rule issued by Governor Doyle is only an emergency rule and will last for one year, it is only a matter of time before policy makers frame a more permanent solution.


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