Politicizing Autism
thias over at Pundit Nation wrote a great article on the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
(WMC) trade association’s opposition to Wisconsin Senate Bill 178, which would mandate that insurance companies in Wisconsin provide coverage for treatment and therapy for children with autism. I know that as the parent of an autistic child I’m incredibly biased in my support of SB178, but I simply cannot understand how anyone with any sense of compassion, empathy, or decency could be opposed to providing increased coverage for children affected by autism and other related disorders.
Depending on the severity of their case, children affected by autism and related spectrum disorders can have varying levels of ability to function, and likewise their potential for improvement is equally varied. For children like my son Nick - who’s fortunate to have a very mild case of autism - the potential for significant and lasting improvement is tremendous, so long as intervention is done as early as possible. My wife, Nick, and I have waited just over twelve months for the therapy Nick needs, and that’s even given the fact that I’m a state employee, and therefore have pretty darn good health insurance. We’ve had to jump through innumerable hoops when it comes to applying for Medicaid, and then came the waiting.
I’ve written more than once about my frustrations when it came to our wait for Nick’s therapy, and I can only hope lawmakers in Madison -regardless of political affiliation - will come together and do the right thing in passing SB178 into law. Providing more resources for diagnosis, intervention, research and therapy for children affected by autism and related spectrum disorders is the right thing to do, not just from a moral standpoint, but from a dollars and cents standpoint. I know the WMC is arguing it would be too expensive for insurance companies in Wisconsin to have to provide coverage for autism and related spectrum disorders - and the therapy is expensive, running into the tens of thousands of dollars per year - but when I hear that argument I’m reminded of the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” Any money spent now on autism intervention and therapy is going to prevent even more money being spent in the future to help take care of individuals who may not be able to function in society because they didn’t have the opportunity for a timely intervention and therapy.