**1/24/10- Update: According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the status of HB 8 is that it is currently in the Senate Committee on Insurance, Commerce & Labor**
----------------------The Ohio House of Representatives on Tuesday December 8, 2010 passed an amended House Bill 8
Representatives Ted Celeste (D-24), Nancy Garland (D-20) + 42 co-sponsors introduced 02/17/09
As Passed by the House, 128th General Assembly, Regular Session, 2009-2010
Am. Sub. H. B. No. 8"
"A BILLApplied behavior analysis is included in HB 8; some clauses of interest regarding delivery and provider of services,
To amend section 1739.05 and to enact sections 1751.68 and 3923.84 of the Revised Code to prohibit health insurers from excluding coverage for specified services for individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder..."
"(a) The person is licensed, certified, or registered by an appropriate agency of this state to perform the services assigned to the person in the treatment plan.
(b) The person is directly supervised by an individual who is licensed, certified, or registered by an appropriate agency of this state to perform the services assigned to the person in the treatment plan. "
About who determines medical necessity
"(B) Coverage provided under this section shall be delineated in a treatment plan developed by the attending psychologist or physician and shall not be subject to any limits on the number or duration of visits an individual may make to any autism services provider, except as delineated in the treatment plan, if the services are medically necessary."
Some online comments are that last-minute amendments added to the bill set a $36,000/year cap on coverage, review of treatment plan by the insurer every 6 months, and a mandate that treatment be provided, or overseen by, a licensed, certified or registered provider, and delayed the implementation date to January 2011. There are limits on the type of plan to which H.B.8 would apply, and insurers would be allowed to opt out if the mandate increases insurer costs or premiums by more than 1%. To date, other states with similar coverage have reported cost increases of 0.8% or less.
H.B. 8 now goes to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
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Other stories and references:
Ohio General Assembly
Ohio Legislative Service Commission
House OKs bills on autism, diabetes
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 3:02 AM
Jim Siegel
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Notice of passage of HB 8 at Autism Votes
with additional information on past insurance legislation activity in Ohio
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Website: Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG
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Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website, http://www.abainternational.org
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Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG and SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website, http://www.abainternational.org
