As Introduced

129th General Assembly
Regular Session
2011-2012
H. B. No. 376


Representatives Celeste, Garland 

Cosponsors: Representatives Antonio, Ashford, Barnes, Boyd, Carney, Clyde, DeGeeter, Driehaus, Fedor, Fende, Foley, Gentile, Gerberry, Goyal, Hagan, R., Heard, Letson, Lundy, Mallory, Milkovich, Murray, O'Brien, Okey, Patmon, Phillips, Pillich, Ramos, Reece, Slesnick, Stinziano, Sykes, Szollosi, Weddington, Winburn, Yuko 



A BILL
To amend section 1739.05 and to enact sections 1
1751.68 and 3923.84 of the Revised Code to 2
prohibit health insurers from excluding coverage 3
for specified services for individuals diagnosed 4
with an autism spectrum disorder.5


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That section 1739.05 be amended and sections 6
1751.68 and 3923.84 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as 7
follows:8

       Sec. 1739.05.  (A) A multiple employer welfare arrangement 9
that is created pursuant to sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the 10
Revised Code and that operates a group self-insurance program may 11
be established only if any of the following applies:12

       (1) The arrangement has and maintains a minimum enrollment of 13
three hundred employees of two or more employers.14

       (2) The arrangement has and maintains a minimum enrollment of 15
three hundred self-employed individuals.16

       (3) The arrangement has and maintains a minimum enrollment of 17
three hundred employees or self-employed individuals in any 18
combination of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section.19

       (B) A multiple employer welfare arrangement that is created 20
pursuant to sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code and 21
that operates a group self-insurance program shall comply with all 22
laws applicable to self-funded programs in this state, including 23
sections 3901.04, 3901.041, 3901.19 to 3901.26, 3901.38, 3901.381 24
to 3901.3814, 3901.40, 3901.45, 3901.46, 3902.01 to 3902.14, 25
3923.24, 3923.282, 3923.30, 3923.301, 3923.38, 3923.581, 3923.63, 26
3923.80, 3923.84, 3924.031, 3924.032, and 3924.27 of the Revised 27
Code.28

       (C) A multiple employer welfare arrangement created pursuant 29
to sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code shall solicit 30
enrollments only through agents or solicitors licensed pursuant to 31
Chapter 3905. of the Revised Code to sell or solicit sickness and 32
accident insurance.33

       (D) A multiple employer welfare arrangement created pursuant 34
to sections 1739.01 to 1739.22 of the Revised Code shall provide 35
benefits only to individuals who are members, employees of 36
members, or the dependents of members or employees, or are 37
eligible for continuation of coverage under section 1751.53 or 38
3923.38 of the Revised Code or under Title X of the "Consolidated 39
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985," 100 Stat. 227, 29 40
U.S.C.A. 1161, as amended.41

       Sec. 1751.68.  (A) Notwithstanding section 3901.71 of the 42
Revised Code, no health insuring corporation policy, contract, or 43
agreement that provides basic health care services that is 44
delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state shall 45
exclude coverage for the screening and diagnosis of autism 46
spectrum disorders or for any of the following services when those 47
services are medically necessary and are prescribed, provided, or 48
ordered for an individual diagnosed with an autism spectrum 49
disorder by a health care professional licensed or certified under 50
the laws of this state to prescribe, provide, or order such 51
services:52

       (1) Habilitative or rehabilitative care;53

       (2) Pharmacy care if the policy, contract, or agreement 54
provides coverage for other prescription drug services;55

       (3) Psychiatric care;56

       (4) Psychological care; 57

       (5) Therapeutic care;58

       (6) Counseling services;59

       (7) Any additional treatments or therapies adopted by the 60
director of developmental disabilities pursuant to division (I)(4) 61
of section 3923.84 of the Revised Code.62

       (B) Coverage provided under this section shall be delineated 63
in a treatment plan developed by the attending psychologist or 64
physician and shall not be subject to any limits on the number or 65
duration of visits an individual may make to any autism services 66
provider, except as delineated in the treatment plan, if the 67
services are medically necessary.68

       (C) Coverage provided under this section may be subject to 69
any copayment, deductible, and coinsurance provisions of the 70
policy, contract, or agreement to the extent that other medical 71
services covered by the policy, contract, or agreement are subject 72
to those provisions. Coverage provided under this section may be 73
subject to a yearly maximum limitation of thirty-six thousand 74
dollars on claims paid for services related to coverage provided 75
under this section.76

       (D)(1) Not more than once every six months, a health insuring 77
corporation may request a review of any treatment provided under 78
this section unless the insured's licensed physician or licensed 79
psychologist agrees that more frequent review is necessary. The 80
health insuring corporation shall pay for any review requested 81
under division (D)(1) of this section.82

       (2) If requested by the health insuring corporation, the 83
provider shall provide the health insuring corporation with an 84
annual treatment plan.85

        (3) Inpatient services are not subject to the six-month 86
review limitations under division (D)(1) of this section.87

       (E) This section shall not be construed as limiting benefits 88
otherwise available under an individual's policy, contract, or 89
agreement.90

       (F) This section shall not be construed as affecting any 91
obligation to provide services to an individual under an 92
individualized family service plan developed under 20 U.S.C. 1436 93
or individualized service plan developed under section 5126.31 of 94
the Revised Code, or affecting the duty of a public school to 95
provide a child with a disability with a free appropriate public 96
education under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education 97
Improvement Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., as amended, and 98
Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code.99

       (G) A health insuring corporation that offers coverage for 100
basic health care services is not required to offer the coverage 101
required under division (A) of this section in combination with 102
the offer of coverage for basic health care services if all of the 103
following apply:104

       (1) The health insuring corporation submits documentation 105
certified by an independent member of the American academy of 106
actuaries to the superintendent of insurance showing that incurred 107
claims for the coverage required under division (A) of this 108
section for a period of at least six months independently caused 109
the health insuring corporation's costs for claims and 110
administrative expenses for the coverage of all covered services 111
to increase by more than one per cent per year. 112

       (2) The health insuring corporation submits a signed letter 113
from an independent member of the American academy of actuaries to 114
the superintendent opining that the increase in costs described in 115
division (G)(1) of this section could reasonably justify an 116
increase of more than one per cent in the annual premiums or rates 117
charged by the health insuring corporation for the coverage of 118
basic health care services.119

       (3) The superintendent makes both of the following 120
determinations from the documentation and opinion submitted 121
pursuant to divisions (G)(1) and (2) of this section:122

       (a) Incurred claims for the coverage required under division 123
(A) of this section for a period of at least six months 124
independently caused the health insuring corporation's costs for 125
claims and administrative expenses for the coverage of all covered 126
services to increase by more than one per cent per year.127

       (b) The increase in costs reasonably justifies an increase of 128
more than one per cent in the annual premiums or rates charged by 129
the health insuring corporation for the coverage of basic health 130
care services.131

       Any determination made by the superintendent under division 132
(G)(3) of this section is subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised 133
Code.134

       (H) The services covered under this section shall not be 135
considered supplemental health care services under division (B)(1) 136
of section 1751.01 of the Revised Code.137

       (I) As used in this section:138

       (1) "Applied behavior analysis" means the design, 139
implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications 140
using behavioral stimuli and consequences to produce socially 141
significant improvement in human behavior, including, but not 142
limited to, the use of direct observation, measurement, and 143
functional analysis of the relationship between environment and 144
behavior.145

       (2) "Autism services provider" means any person whose 146
professional scope of practice allows treatment of autism spectrum 147
disorders, whose services are delineated in the treatment plan 148
under division (B) of this section, and of whom one of the 149
following is true:150

        (a) The person is licensed, certified, or registered by an 151
appropriate agency of this state to perform the services assigned 152
to the person in the treatment plan.153

        (b) The person is directly supervised by an individual who is 154
licensed, certified, or registered by an appropriate agency of 155
this state to perform the services assigned to the person in the 156
treatment plan.157

       (3) "Autism spectrum disorder" means any of the pervasive 158
developmental disorders as defined by the most recent edition of 159
the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 160
published by the American psychiatric association, or if that 161
manual is no longer published, a similar diagnostic manual. Autism 162
spectrum disorder includes, but is not limited to, autistic 163
disorder, Asperger's disorder, Rett's disorder, childhood 164
disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder.165

       (4) "Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders" means medically 166
necessary assessments, evaluations, or tests, including, but not 167
limited to, genetic and psychological tests to determine whether 168
an individual has an autism spectrum disorder.169

       (5) "Habilitative or rehabilitative care" means professional, 170
counseling, and guidance services and treatment programs, 171
including applied behavior analysis, that are necessary to 172
develop, maintain, or restore the functioning of an individual to 173
the maximum extent practicable.174

       (6) "Medically necessary" means the service is based upon 175
evidence; is prescribed, provided, or ordered by a health care 176
professional licensed or certified under the laws of this state to 177
prescribe, provide, or order autism-related services in accordance 178
with accepted standards of practice; and will or is reasonably 179
expected to do any of the following:180

       (a) Prevent the onset of an illness, condition, injury, or 181
disability;182

       (b) Reduce or ameliorate the physical, mental, or 183
developmental effects of an illness, condition, injury, or 184
disability;185

       (c) Assist in achieving or maintaining maximum functional 186
capacity for performing daily activities, taking into account both 187
the functional capacity of the individual and the appropriate 188
functional capacities of individuals of the same age.189

       (7) "Pharmacy care" means prescribed medications and any 190
medically necessary health-related services used to determine the 191
need or effectiveness of the medications.192

       (8) "Psychiatric care" means direct or consultative services 193
provided by a psychiatrist licensed in the state in which the 194
psychiatrist practices psychiatry.195

       (9) "Psychological care" means direct or consultative 196
services provided by a psychologist licensed in the state in which 197
the psychologist practices psychology.198

       (10) "Therapeutic care" means services, communication 199
devices, or other adaptive devices or equipment provided by a 200
licensed speech-language pathologist, licensed occupational 201
therapist, or licensed physical therapist.202

       Sec. 3923.84.  (A) Notwithstanding section 3901.71 of the 203
Revised Code, no individual or group policy of sickness and 204
accident insurance that is delivered, issued for delivery, or 205
renewed in this state or public employee benefit plan established 206
or modified in this state shall exclude coverage for the screening 207
and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders or for any of the 208
following services when those services are medically necessary and 209
are prescribed, provided, or ordered for an individual diagnosed 210
with an autism spectrum disorder by a health care professional 211
licensed or certified under the laws of this state to prescribe, 212
provide, or order such services:213

       (1) Habilitative or rehabilitative care;214

       (2) Pharmacy care if the policy or plan provides coverage for 215
other prescription drug services;216

       (3) Psychiatric care;217

       (4) Psychological care; 218

       (5) Therapeutic care;219

       (6) Counseling services;220

       (7) Any additional treatments or therapies adopted by the 221
director of developmental disabilities pursuant to division (I)(4) 222
of this section.223

       (B) Coverage provided under this section shall be delineated 224
in a treatment plan developed by the attending psychologist or 225
physician and shall not be subject to any limits on the number or 226
duration of visits an individual may make to any autism services 227
provider, except as delineated in the treatment plan, if the 228
services are medically necessary.229

       (C) Coverage provided under this section may be subject to 230
any copayment, deductible, and coinsurance provisions of the 231
policy or plan to the extent that other medical services covered 232
by the policy or plan are subject to those provisions. Coverage 233
provided under this section may be subject to a yearly maximum 234
limitation of thirty-six thousand dollars on claims paid for 235
services related to coverage provided under this section.236

       (D)(1) Not more than once every six months, an insurer or 237
public employee benefit plan may request a review of any treatment 238
provided under this section unless the insured's licensed 239
physician or licensed psychologist agrees that more frequent 240
review is necessary. The insurer or public employee benefit plan 241
shall pay for any review requested under division (D)(1) of this 242
section.243

       (2) If requested by the insurer or public employee benefit 244
plan, the provider shall provide the insurer or public employee 245
benefit plan with an annual treatment plan.246

       (3) Inpatient services are not subject to the six-month 247
review limitations under division (D)(1) of this section.248

       (E) This section shall not be construed as limiting benefits 249
otherwise available under an individual's policy or plan.250

       (F) This section shall not be construed as affecting any 251
obligation to provide services to an individual under an 252
individualized family service plan developed under 20 U.S.C. 1436 253
or individualized service plan developed under section 5126.31 of 254
the Revised Code, or affecting the duty of a public school to 255
provide a child with a disability with a free appropriate public 256
education under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education 257
Improvement Act of 2004," 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., as amended, and 258
Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code.259

        (G) This section does not apply to the offer or renewal of 260
any individual or group policy of sickness and accident insurance 261
that provides coverage for specific diseases or accidents only, or 262
to any hospital indemnity, medicare supplement, medicare, tricare, 263
long-term care, disability income, one-time limited duration 264
policy of not longer than six months, or other policy that offers 265
only supplemental benefits.266

        (H) A public employee benefit plan or insurer that offers a 267
policy of sickness and accident insurance is not required to offer 268
the coverage required under division (A) of this section if all of 269
the following apply:270

       (1) The insurer or public employee benefit plan submits 271
documentation certified by an independent member of the American 272
academy of actuaries to the superintendent of insurance showing 273
that incurred claims for the coverage required under division (A) 274
of this section for a period of at least six months independently 275
caused the costs for claims and administrative expenses for the 276
coverage of all covered services to increase by more than one per 277
cent per year. 278

       (2) The insurer or public employee benefit plan submits a 279
signed letter from an independent member of the American academy 280
of actuaries to the superintendent opining that the increase in 281
costs described in division (H)(1) of this section could 282
reasonably justify an increase of more than one per cent in the 283
annual premiums or rates charged by the insurer or public employee 284
benefit plan for the coverage of all covered services.285

       (3) The superintendent makes both of the following 286
determinations from the documentation and opinion submitted 287
pursuant to divisions (H)(1) and (2) of this section:288

       (a) Incurred claims for the coverage required under division 289
(A) of this section for a period of at least six months 290
independently caused the costs for claims and administrative 291
expenses for the coverage of all covered services to increase by 292
more than one per cent per year.293

       (b) The increase in costs reasonably justifies an increase of 294
more than one per cent in the annual premiums or rates charged by 295
the insurer or public employee benefit plan for the coverage of 296
all covered services.297

       Any determination made by the superintendent under division 298
(H)(3) of this section is subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised 299
Code.300

       (I)(1) The director of developmental disabilities shall 301
convene a committee on the coverage of autism spectrum disorders 302
to investigate and recommend treatments or therapies for autism 303
spectrum disorders that the committee believes should be included 304
in the services that health benefit plans and public employee 305
benefit plans are required to cover under division (A) of this 306
section and the qualifications of the providers of those 307
treatments or therapies.308

       (2) The committee shall consist of nine members appointed by 309
the director of developmental disabilities including the director 310
of developmental disabilities, the director of health, and at 311
least one licensed physician, licensed psychologist, and parent of 312
an individual diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.313

       (3) The committee shall serve at the pleasure of the 314
director.315

       (4) The committee shall submit its recommendations to the 316
director of developmental disabilities. The director may adopt 317
rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to 318
include additional treatments or therapies for autism spectrum 319
disorders in the services that health benefit plans and public 320
employee benefit plans are required to cover under division (A) of 321
this section. 322

       (J) As used in this section:323

       (1) "Applied behavior analysis" means the design, 324
implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications 325
using behavioral stimuli and consequences to produce socially 326
significant improvement in human behavior, including, but not 327
limited to, the use of direct observation, measurement, and 328
functional analysis of the relationship between environment and 329
behavior.330

       (2) "Autism services provider" means any person whose 331
professional scope of practice allows treatment of autism spectrum 332
disorders, whose services are delineated in the treatment plan 333
under division (B) of this section, and of whom one of the 334
following is true:335

        (a) The person is licensed, certified, or registered by an 336
appropriate agency of this state to perform the services assigned 337
to the person in the treatment plan.338

        (b) The person is directly supervised by an individual who is 339
licensed, certified, or registered by an appropriate agency of 340
this state to perform the services assigned to the person in the 341
treatment plan.342

       (3) "Autism spectrum disorder" means any of the pervasive 343
developmental disorders as defined by the most recent edition of 344
the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 345
published by the American psychiatric association, or if that 346
manual is no longer published, a similar diagnostic manual. Autism 347
spectrum disorder includes, but is not limited to, autistic 348
disorder, Asperger's disorder, Rett's disorder, childhood 349
disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder.350

       (4) "Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders" means medically 351
necessary assessments, evaluations, or tests, including, but not 352
limited to, genetic and psychological tests to determine whether 353
an individual has an autism spectrum disorder.354

       (5) "Habilitative or rehabilitative care" means professional, 355
counseling, and guidance services and treatment programs, 356
including applied behavior analysis, that are necessary to 357
develop, maintain, or restore the functioning of an individual to 358
the maximum extent practicable.359

       (6) "Health benefit plan" has the same meaning as in section 360
3924.01 of the Revised Code.361

       (7) "Medically necessary" means the service is based upon 362
evidence; is prescribed, provided, or ordered by a health care 363
professional licensed or certified under the laws of this state to 364
prescribe, provide, or order autism-related services in accordance 365
with accepted standards of practice; and will or is reasonably 366
expected to do any of the following:367

       (a) Prevent the onset of an illness, condition, injury, or 368
disability;369

       (b) Reduce or ameliorate the physical, mental, or 370
developmental effects of an illness, condition, injury, or 371
disability;372

       (c) Assist in achieving or maintaining maximum functional 373
capacity for performing daily activities, taking into account both 374
the functional capacity of the individual and the appropriate 375
functional capacities of individuals of the same age.376

       (8) "Pharmacy care" means prescribed medications and any 377
medically necessary health-related services used to determine the 378
need or effectiveness of the medications.379

       (9) "Psychiatric care" means direct or consultative services 380
provided by a psychiatrist licensed in the state in which the 381
psychiatrist practices psychiatry.382

       (10) "Psychological care" means direct or consultative 383
services provided by a psychologist licensed in the state in which 384
the psychologist practices psychology.385

       (11) "Therapeutic care" means services, communication 386
devices, or other adaptive devices or equipment provided by a 387
licensed speech-language pathologist, licensed occupational 388
therapist, or licensed physical therapist.389

       Section 2.  That existing section 1739.05 of the Revised Code 390
is hereby repealed.391