New Jersey is one step closer to becoming the 14th state in the nation to require health insurance companies to cover treatments for autism and other developmental disabilities.

Legislation (A-2238/S-1651) on the matter passed the full New Jersey Senate 35-0 on June 18 and now heads to the Assembly for votes to match changes made in the Senate.

An insurer would be required to provide coverage for expenses incurred in screening and diagnosing autism or another developmental disability, according to a copy of the bill.

When the covered person’s diagnosis is autism or another developmental disability, the covered treatments are to include medically necessary occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy, as prescribed through a treatment plan and coverage to these therapies is not to be denied on the basis that the treatment is not restorative.

The maximum benefit for a covered person through 2011 is $36,000, the bill states.

Joseph J. Roberts Jr.

Assemblyman Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D-Camden), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said many New Jersey families are already “stretched to their financial edge.”

“But without health coverage for their loved ones, countless families with an autistic child are bankrupting themselves to give their child the potential for a brighter future,” said Roberts in a statement. “Autistic and disabled adults who have not received the proper treatment will leave our families, communities and state with new and more expensive challenges.”

A Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, based on research in 14 states found one in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism, with New Jersey having the highest rate in the country with one in every 94, according to Roberts’ office.

The bills other co-sponsors are Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) and Assemblywoman Joan Voss (D-Bergen)

“Families that have a loved one with autism should not be expected to shoulder the financial hardships of this disorder alone,” Prieto said. “By requiring health insurers to cover therapies for autistic children early in their lives ensures they receive the treatments they most need when it will make the greatest impact  – oftentimes these therapies represent a new lease on life for autistic children and their families.”