New state law extends health coverage for autism therapy

HARTFORD -- Youth advocates celebrated the signing of legislation intended to fill gaps in the delivery of behavioral health services for children with Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday, including extending private insurance coverage to treat adult children with autism spectrum disorder to age 26.

One of the new law's provisions directs the now 20-member Transforming Children's Behavioral Health Policy and Planning Committee to conduct a study for the state legislature's review on existing children's behavioral health crisis services and anticipated future demand.

The legislature established the original 17-member panel in 2023 to evaluate the availability and efficacy of prevention, early intervention and behavioral health services for children up to age 18, and advising the General Assembly and executive agencies. The legislation adds three members to the committee, two providers of substance use treatment to young adults and the state behavioral health advocate.

Under the bill, the study must involve specific providers, including the United Way of Connecticut 2-1-1 Infoline program; 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline; mobile crisis intervention services and urgent crisis centers; subacute crisis stabilization centers and hospital emergency departments. The behavioral health committee must submit its findings and recommendations to three legislative committees by Jan. 1, 2027.

Lamont signed ceremonial copies of the legislation that state legislators passed in special session last week during a news conference before the committee's latest meeting Wednesday. The governor formally signed House Bill 8004 on Monday.

One of the provisions legislators, Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and committee members highlighted Wednesday extends a requirement that private insurance plans cover behavioral therapy for autism spectrum disorder from age 21 to 26.

Jimnahs Miller, a parent of a child with autism, said the extension is critical because now adult children will be able to remain covered under their parents' health insurance plan for five more years. She said it also preserves special education services for students with autism that had been aging out at 22.

"It allows young adults with autism to maintain necessary supports during a very critical transition period in their life, whether they're going to start looking for jobs or going to be going to college," said Miller, co-chair of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Association of Connecticut.

The children's health measures were included in a catch-all bill the legislature passed in a three-day special session last week and represented unfinished business from the regular 2025 session. The Committee on Children advanced a bipartisan children's behavioral health bill in the regular session. The state House approved it 125-23 on the third to last day, but the Senate failed to take action before the adjournment deadline.

State Sen. Ceci Maher, D-Wilton, Senate chairwoman of the Committee on Children, called the legislative failure "a big disappointment" for the bill's supporters, "but persistence pays off and that is our theme. Here we persist."

The legislation also establishes a working group to review private health insurance coverage for children's treatment at urgent crisis centers, and identify potential barriers to commercial insurance coverage and reimbursement. The group will then make recommendations to address any barriers to the legislature and governor's office.

There are four of these walk-in clinics offering 24-hour outpatient care for youths in mental health crisis in Hartford, New Haven, New London and Waterbury.

The Committee on Children originally proposed $8.6 million a year to fund 24/7 mobile crisis services, but the Appropriations Committee later stripped the funding from that earlier bill.

The bill Lamont signed Monday additionally requires the behavioral health committee to collaborate with the Connecticut Association of School Based Health Centers to develop a survey for collecting more comprehensive data on medical, behavioral health and dental services that school-based clinics provide. It further directs the state Department of Public Health to develop appropriate reporting requirements for school-based health centers.

The 91 state-funded clinics serve 32,000 children and have more than 139,000 visits annually, DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani said.

"But the reality is that's actually a fraction of what's happening in the state of Connecticut. There are over 300 school-based health centers in Connecticut, but we, as DPH, can only provide data on the 91 that we fund," she said.

The bill requires the state Department of Social Services to consult with the Yale Child Study Center to review the center's Intensive In-home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services Program and other evidence-based alternatives to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations for children or adolescents who have serious emotional disturbances;

The bill also allows the committee to contract with the Yale Child Study Center to determine if additional federal funding is available and to conduct a trial of the center to see if it may qualify as an evidence-based treatment program.

The catch-all bill also provides more immigrant protections, establishes a new funding source for the Firefighters Cancer Relief Fund, makes technical changes to election redistricting, and revises the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to reduce processing errors and costly penalties.