NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3166
SPONSOR: Titone (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to
mandatory health insurance coverage for tracking devices for children
with developmental disabilities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To help prevent death and serious injury as a result of wandering, many
parents have armed their autistic children with tracking devices, such
as LoJack or Project Lifesaver. These tracking devices ensure that if a
child does wander they can be found quickly and safely. Unfortunately,
many parents are unable to obtain these tracking devices because of the
expense to purchase and maintain the equipment.
This legislation will provide parents and caregivers of autistic chil-
dren the option of utilizing a tracking device and requiring insurance
companies to cover the costs for the equipment and monitoring services.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law to
add a new paragraph 30.
Section 2 amends subsection (1) of section 3221 of the insurance law to
add a new paragraph 19.
Section 3 amends section 4303 of the insurance law to add a new
subsection (oo). Section 4 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The inclination of children on the autism spectrum to wander off impul-
sively is a critical safety issue for parents and caregivers. In New
York City this past month (***) we witnessed a non-verbal autistic
child, Avonte Oquendo, wander from his school; an ongoing case that has
garnered national attention.
In 2012, the Interactive Autism Network (IAN - ianproject.org), the
nation's largest online autism research project, released the results of
the first major survey on wandering and elopement among individuals with
autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The wandering and elopement survey
found that approximately 50% of parents of children with autism report
that their child has eloped at least once. Among the families reporting
at least one instance of elopement, nearly 50% say that their child went
missing long enough to cause significant concern about safety. Of those
who have gone missing, nearly 25% were in danger of drowning and 65%
were in danger of a traffic-related injury, according to the findings
which were published in the journal Pediatrics.
In discussing the study at the time of its release, Dr. Paul Law, author
of the study and director of medical informatics at the Kennedy Krieger
Institute, observed that elopement is one of the most important issues
related to autism that had not been addressed much at all prior to this
study. In fact, according to the study, it is very common and a problem
that puts children with ASD at greatest risk for an early death.
With the Centers for Disease Control now estimating that 1 in 88 chil-
dren in the U.S. has been diagnosed with ASD, experts say there is a
pressing need for devising clear best practices for managing "elope-
ment."
To quote Dr. Law's conclusions based on the study of elopement: "On the
broadest scale, it means we as a nation need to get a system organized
so that when children do elope, and when parents call to report it,
there's an immediate response. The likelihood of them having a very bad
outcome is dramatically increased the longer it takes to recover a child
in a safe place."
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
