Politicians love to sign health insurance mandates into law like the new “Autism Mandate” a.k.a. SB618 that was recently signed in Missouri. This mandate was authored by Republican Scott Rupp and signed into law by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. It is because of bills such as this one that politicians get to be heroes by forcing the “evil” insurance companies to cover conditions like Autism and while giving voters new health insurance benefits. But the question remains, who pays for this heroic mandate? Well, if you haven’t already guessed it, you and I do. You see, these unfunded mandates come back to group and individual policyholders in the form of higher premiums because these claim costs aren’t figured into existing actuarial projections by the insurance companies. That means the new Missouri mandate which requires up to $40,000 per year per individual to be covered will result in premium increases for 2011. It will also mean higher property taxes since school districts are required to implement the mandates as well as all state employee insurance policies.
       
This is not to say that children with Autism shouldn’t be covered by their health insurance, it is saying that politicians - Republicans and Democrats alike - are hypocrites who pounce on insurance companies for raising premiums yet knowingly pass these unfunded mandates which result in higher premiums and taxes. If you want to pass these unfunded mandates, be honest with your constituency about what it is going to cost them. So the next time you see a politician thump their chest on the six o’clock news about how they protected families with autism, remember, the rest of the story of higher premiums and higher taxes.