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Senate approves measure allowing some master’s-level clinicians to diagnose autism for insurance purposes after debate over fiscal note
Summary
The Senate passed First Substitute Senate Bill 214 on Day 35 after floor debate about the fiscal note and backlog estimates; the bill expands which licensed practitioners can diagnose autism spectrum disorder for insurance coverage and requires specific education, training and experience for those diagnoses.
Lede: First Substitute Senate Bill 214 passed the Utah Senate on Day 35 of the 2025 session after floor debate over its fiscal note and the scope of diagnoses the bill would permit.
Nut graf: The bill allows certain master’s-level clinicians to diagnose autism spectrum disorder for insurance purposes when they have appropriate education, training and experience; sponsors argued the change would reduce diagnostic wait times, while other senators pressed for a revised fiscal estimate before the bill advanced.
Body: Sponsor Senator Kwan said the bill ‘‘defines that certain masters level therapists can diagnose autism spectrum disorder for insurance purposes in addition to physicians and psychiatrists’’ and clarified that the change does not alter the professional scope of practice for any licensed group. Kwan also disputed the fiscal analyst’s note, which the sponsor said used a 5% increase estimate to compute an ongoing cost; the sponsor characterized that 5% as an artificial inflation of expected diagnostic incidence and said the change is intended to reduce the backlog that already drives spending.
Senator Fillmore asked whether the sponsor would agree to circle the bill while the fiscal analyst revised the estimate; Kwan said he was concerned about timing and that the fiscal analysts were researching a possible revision and had signaled a potential update. After floor discussion, Kwan moved the bill and the Senate recorded the final roll-call tally as 17 yeas, 8 nays and 4 absent.
Ending: The bill passed the Senate and will be transmitted to the House. The sponsor and the fiscal analysts indicated a possible fiscal-note revision, which the House or implementing agencies may address during their review.
