Autism can take a financial toll on families.
"It's expensive. Private speech can go anywhere from $100 to $140 an hour. The same with occupational therapy," said Joanne Quinn.
Quinn heads the Autism Project of Rhode Island. She has a 15-year-old son with autism. She said the bills for treatment can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
"We don't have that cash as parents. We've got other kids. We've got houses. We have mortgages," Quinn said.
Quinn is part of a special State House commission working on a bill that would require insurance companies to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism and related disorders.
"The treatments for autism that we want them to cover are the basic needs these kids need to be able to grow and be independent individuals and participate in our communities," Quinn said.
"It's personal. This is personal," said Peter Palumbo, D-Cranston, who is sponsoring the bill.
Palumbo has two autistic children.
"We're in a great state for care. We receive a lot of a care that the state picks up now, but that's unfair to the state and all the taxpayers, too," Palumbo said.
It appears health insurers are not on board.
A representative for an industry group called America's Health Insurance Plans said it is opposed to state coverage mandates -- not specifically for autism, but for any disorder in general.
The reason is cost.
Palumbo said states that have enacted autism coverage have seen minimal premium hikes. But the industry argues that when you add up a bunch of coverage mandates, costs will rise.
Expenses are something Quinn said she knows all too well.
"You can go broke. We have a lot of lines of credit. We're lucky in that sense, but not all families do. We'll be paying that for the rest of our lives. But he's our son and we want the best for him, and that's what you do," Quinn said.
The insurance industry group also has concerns about being forced to cover some services it claims should be handled by schools.
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