Opinion
J. A11007-15 No. 2299 EDA 2011
11-13-2015
ANTHONY BURKE, BY HIS PNG JOHN BURKE v. INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS, Appellant
Appeal from the Order Entered July 19, 2011
In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County
Civil Division at No. February Term, 2010, No. 002226
BEFORE: FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E., WECHT, and FITZGERALD, JJ. DISSENTING STATEMENT BY FITZGERALD, J.:
Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court. --------
I respectfully dissent. Insurance coverage of autism-related services conducted at schools via the Autism Coverage Law ("ACL") is a laudable and noteworthy goal. As the majority observes, thirty members of the Legislature, the former Governor, and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department support a construction of the law requiring private health insurers to cover applied behavior analysis ("ABA") autism treatment services conducted at schools, thereby relieving the Commonwealth from shouldering some of the costs. But in my view, I perceive no statutory basis warranting that construction. If our Legislature intended for private health insurers to cover ABA services provided in schools, then it could have explicitly excluded such services from the limiting provision at 40 P.S. § 764h(c). Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.