Autism live Web chat transcript: Diagnosis, treatment and potential General Assembly legislation

The General Assembly passed a bill that requires health insurers to cover the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and applied behavior analysis treatment for children ages 2 to 6, subject to an annual maximum benefit of $35,000. The bill exempts individual or small group policies. For four years, the Virginia Autism Project pushed to get the law passed. Now, it awaits Gov. Bob McDonnell's signature to make it law. Dr. John Harrington, who has researched autism treatments and is director of general academic pediatrics at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, and Mark Llobell, a Virginia Beach man whose grandson has autism and founding member of the Virginia Autism Project, joined a live web chat Wednesday, March 2, at noon.

Veronica Chufo

March 2, 2011