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Lawmakers pause PANS/PANDAS coverage bill after debate over prevalence and cost estimates
Summary
Delegate Hope asked the committee to defer HB 1641 so staff could confirm prevalence and fiscal estimates for proposed coverage of PANS/PANDAS-related treatments; parents and advocates testified that treatment is effective but insurers have denied coverage.
House bill 1641, a measure addressing coverage for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS), was presented to the House Health and Human Resources Subcommittee Friday and then passed by for the day while staff and sponsors reconciled prevalence and fiscal estimates.
Delegate (first name not specified in the transcript) introduced HB 1641 noting it had previously been referred to the Health Benefits Review Commission (HERC) for study. The sponsor said HERC and the Bureau of Insurance used data from carriers to estimate prevalence closer to 1 in 11,765 to 1 in 12,000, and that a widely circulated figure of 1 in 200 is decades old and “has been discredited.” The sponsor also referenced a $94,500 budget amendment staff had…
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