The Associated Press
Published: May 4, 2009
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Gov. Brad Henry has signed legislation designed to increase the number of therapists who provide services to autistic children.
But Henry said Monday the measure is just a small step in the effort to help affected Oklahoma families. He urged lawmakers to pass legislation to mandate insurance coverage for the treatment of autism.
The bill calls for enactment of a licensing process for national board certified behavior analysts and enhancement of existing state programs that would train doctors to diagnose and treat autism.
But the governor says some people question whether it will actually produce significant new services if insurance doesn't cover the cost of treatment and parents can't afford to pay the bill.
Republican legislative leaders oppose insurance mandates and say they drive up the cost of health insurance.
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2 comments:
I exchanged emails with my house rep and he sounded genuine in his belief that there were not enough therapists in OK and this bill would help cure that. But I don't get it. To train new Physical, Occupational, or Speech Therapist takes years. A doctor, a long time.
We don't have a huge problem finding therapists for our child. We are fortunate, we can pay for our child's therapist plus we browbeat the insurance company into paying for much of it.
Not everybody is so fortunate. You shouldn't have to be fortunate!
Yogi
You are correct. Therapists are abundant if we have the resources to pay for them.
They think that these therapists work directly with our children 40 hours per week. The role of BCBA's will be to train and supervise home/school/private tutors. The tutors will work with our kids.
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