April 13, 2010
Commentary: Kansas Autism Legislation Is All for Show
By Jeffrey Nessel
Kansas lawmakers have been patting themselves on the back recently for passing legislation that may someday help families with children on the spectrum pay for ABA therapy. But by insisting on a one-year “test track” the government of Kansas failed to do what 15 other states are already doing — giving equal treatment to families touched by autism. (For those who aren’t familiar, the one-year test track is a supposed financial feasibility test that applies only to individuals insured by the state employee health plan. State statute says a “test track” must be done before a mandate will be considered for the entire population, although lawmakers are hard-pressed to provide examples of other treatment policies carried out accordingly.)
This is NOT what Kate’s Law intended to do, yet this is the bone the Legislature tossed to Kansas Coalition for Autism Legislation and their supporters. For those at KCAL I only have admiration and praise. Their tireless efforts got the bill as far it could go, and having dealt with some members of the Kansas delegation, I know how difficult that effort was.
However, not all members of the Legislature deserve to be painted by that broad brush. Two members of the House whom I met, Pat Colloton and Sheryl Spalding, deserve special praise for their compassion and intelligence in understanding what Kate’s Law was about. Overland Park Republican Sen. Tim Owens was a tireless supporter. I know there were many others who backed the bill and as the father of a child on the spectrum, I am grateful for their efforts.
Unfortunately the forces opposed to helping ALL families with children on the spectrum got their way and pushed through the lesser “test-track” bill. At hearings, Committee Chair, Sen. Ruth Teichman, remarked how she would rather nap instead of working the bill, a feeling I could truly understand. It had to be extremely tiring leading the charge against families who want equality for children on the autism spectrum.
As for my own senator, John Vratil, I have no doubt he was more disheartened and felt more sadness when his beloved Kansas Jayhawks were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament, than when one of his constituents told him of the financial hardship of trying to pay for ABA therapy for his daughter. I was in his office when he condescendingly mentioned that if the Kate’s Law people had just listened to him years ago, the test track would already be in force and the data needed to check costs would be available. When the senator was informed that comparative figures in states that had enacted similar legislation was available in the booklet KCAL had prepared for him, he admitted he hadn’t even looked at the packet of information. He then insisted Kansas demographics could not be compared to other states, yet he didn’t even know what other states had laws mandating insurance companies cover ABA therapy. (By the way Senator, that information was available to you in the packet provided by KCAL.)
I have been told that when informed that the amount of children covered under the “test track” would be too small of a sample to get a reading, Senator Vratil seemed somewhat surprised. Gee, senator do you think that would be something you might want to have checked into before voting on this issue? What really amazes me about Sen. Vratil though is he is on the payroll of the Blue Valley School District as their counsel. One would think that with the cost cutting being done by the district this year (though not HIS salary!) it would give him pause to consider how, if more children are diagnosed and treated earlier, that could lead to saving the district ( and the State of Kansas) money in special needs education costs. I do have to mention that weeks after my meeting with the senator, when funding for special needs students was being debated in the State Senate, he was quoted in the paper as saying : “Have some compassion and understanding because the people who will be hurt are the kids that need those services the most.” Senator, where was that compassion and understanding when Kate’s Law was being debated?
Another State senator, Chris Steineger, must also be cited for his complete lack of understanding about this issue. When the “test track” was being debated in committee, I contacted Sen. Steineger (a Democrat who is running for Secretary of State; incidentally, he only called me back after I left a message mentioning that I was a Democratic committeeman). I mentioned that the bill really wasn’t what I wanted, that I wanted all families to be able to get this kind of coverage. This led the Senator to rant about how “this country is going broke and everyone wants them to pay for everything. We’re in trouble here.” When I pointed out to Steineger that in reality Kate’s Law was projected to save the state money, he admitted he never even opened or read the packet of information provided to him by KCAL.
“That doesn’t surprise me since one of your leading campaign contributors is Blue Cross and Blue Sheild.”
“I don’t like what you are inferring.”
To say the conversation went downhill from there would be an understatement. At least three times Steineger said he “wasn’t like Dennis Moore” that he didn’t have a “staff to look at every bill.” Besides the fact that the bill was in HIS committee and had been debated for almost two years, you’d think he’d have more than a passing knowledge of it.
“Kansas doesn’t have the money to fund this.”
“If you looked at the information that was provided to you you’d know that the bill would actually, over the long run, save money for the state. In fact the only cost would be minimal rise in premiums to other policy holders. This was shown when a court case in Minnesota forced your buddies at Blue Cross and Blue Shield to open their books.”
Because this is the first time any sort of autism therapy bill has passed the Kansas Legislature, many see this as a partial or moral victory, and as someone who measures his son’s successes in incremental steps, I can relate to that. But then I have to ask if equal protection of children in Kansas should have to be delayed by years because of the lack of leadership and courage by our elected officials, and the answer is a resounding NO.
Just a quick update…
The Governor’s media people put out a press release yesterday headlined “GOVERNOR SIGNS LEGISLATION TO INSURE KANSAS CHILDREN WITH AUTISM.” When I called the media office to inform them that was not true, that this was only (their words) a “step” in that direction and thus the headline was at best misleading, they got a little testy.
Ice http://vkenmorel8v1.AUTOPARTSTHAI.INFO/tag/design+Amana+Ice/ : Amana…
Ice…