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When Bouder decided that health insurance companies were wrong to deny claims to pay for treatment for autism, he helped change the law.
On Wednesday, Gov. Rendell signed a bill requiring insurers to provide up to $36,000 in coverage for autism therapy for people younger than 21.
It's a landmark law Bouder helped write, and it's inspired similar legislation in Louisiana and Florida.
"The boldness I've needed, the persistence I've needed, I drew it from the love I have for my son," the 38-year-old Manheim resident said.
Bouder and his wife, Jennifer, have two boys, Donovan, 13, and Kyle, 10. Donovan was diagnosed with autism at age 4.
Autism is a developmental disorder. Symptoms include impaired social skills, repetitive actions and severely limited activities and interests.
More than 800 children in Lancaster County and 21,000 across the state are estimated to have autism.
Like many parents, the Bouders wanted to know why and what to do.Scientists have not identified the cause of autism, whether genetic or environmental or a combination.
"Since nobody knows what causes it, we focused our efforts on its most proven treatment — applied behavior analysis," Bouder said.
The Bouders were living in North Carolina at the time of Donovan's diagnosis. Shortly afterward, Bouder took a job in Lancaster County, and the family followed.
He grew up in the city, graduating from McCaskey High School in 1988.
The family was short on funds, so they immersed themselves in research. Through self instruction in applied behavior analysis, they noticed sharp improvement in Donovan's behavior.
Yet there was only so much they could do themselves. They needed experts to ensure that their son had the best possible chance.
Donovan needed speech therapy. An insurance company paid for a few visits, and then denied him — once it learned he had autism.
After jumping through several hoops, the family was able to get treatments with state Medicaid.
(394) (176) (175) (62) (22) (16) (7) (6) (3) (2)Bouder, who had been working in real estate, launched into paralegal work. He began guiding other parents through the web of special education services and fighting insurance denials.
His efforts caught the attention of state public welfare officials.
Bouder said during a meeting with a group of state officials that he didn't believe in a proposal that would force people who have Medicaid to pay a premium.
"I personally could afford to pay it, but I don't feel comfortable paying for two health insurance premiums to receive a floor of coverage," Bouder told the group.
He was paying for his family's health care coverage through his employer and receiving the state coverage for his son's autism treatment.
This short statement by Bouder sparked the legislative fires.
Soon afterward, Bouder sent to state House Speaker Dennis O'Brien's office a rough draft of a proposed bill to require health insurance companies to provide coverage.
O'Brien's office edited the bill and put it into the proper format.
It looked promising.
The bill passed the House, but died in the Senate at the end of the 2005-06 legislative session.
In February 2007, a national group called Autism Speaks contacted Bouder. It wanted to help him. It taught him about policy, lobbying and grass-roots advocacy.
By June, the bill had passed the House unanimously and was sent to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and finally the state Health Care Cost Containment Council.
"It has a reputation of being a place where mandates go to die," Bouder said.
Bouder and the team of advocates promoting the bill needed to prove there was a demand for the services, costs could be contained and that it would amount to a long-term savings to the commonwealth.
They backed up every assertion with evidence. Health insurance companies' testimony looked weak in comparison, he said.
Last October, group members realized that with all of their work they forgot to include a crucial element: having an actuary create a funding formula.
So Bouder, the chief operating officer for The Vista School, a center for children with autism in Hershey, created a math formula that proved it would not cost as much as health insurance companies claimed.
The law goes into effect next year. It's not absolute, and the need for change is not over. Companies with fewer than 51 employees do not have to provide any autism coverage.
And Bouder is a fighter.
He's not going to stop until he gets Congress on board. A federal law prevents states from governing self-funded health insurance policies.
"I promised (Donovan) that I would never lose a fight for him," Bouder said. And "I won't, because I'm never going to give up."
E-mail: rmeadows@lnpnews.com or call 481-6025
