KENTUCKY: The 2010 legislative session convened on January 5, and the state’s $1.4 billion budget shortfall is the main issue. On the health side, the Kentucky Department of Insurance has posted its legislative agenda, which includes a bill that would mirror a federal law in prohibiting insurers from adjusting premiums or denying coverage on the basis of genetic information and that would limit the collection of genetic information by insurers.

The Department also will pursue measures that would change the mental health and substance abuse parity law and modify the schedule for financial exams of domestic insurers from every 3 years to every 5 years. A proposed expansion of the autism mandate would require large group health benefit plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders for individuals between the ages of 1 and 21, including annual coverage of $50,000 for individuals who are age 1-6, and annual coverage of $12,000 for individuals age 7-21, for specified treatments.

It also would require individual and small group market plans to provide coverage of $1,000 per month for pharmacy care, psychiatric care, psychological care, therapeutic care, applied behavior analysis and rehabilitative care for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. All provisions would take effect January 1, 2011.

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