Health mandate coverage clouds NC session opening

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers returning to Raleigh have reached an early impasse on disputed legislation surrounding autism insurance coverage as the first gavel on this year’s session fell.

A General Assembly study committee examining the effects of the federal health care overhaul on the state canceled its meeting Wednesday after leaders again couldn’t get enough members together to do business.

The panel tried twice to meet Tuesday but failed to get quorums each time. Most House members stayed away in protest of proposed legislation that would place an 18-month moratorium on new insurance mandates. That’s because the House passed a bill last year requiring health insurance providers to cover autism diagnosis and treatment.

The proposal could still surface in the Senate this year as the legislature reconvened at midday Wednesday.

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