Questions Emerge About The Impact Of State Autism Insurance Mandates

(By Shefali Luthra for Kaiser Health News)

Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books requiring health insurers to cover autism treatments. But new research evaluating the so-called “insurance mandates” suggests these efforts are failing in key ways to help people — especially children — get needed therapy.

These findings, which were to be presented Wednesday at a major conference on autism spectrum disorder and will appear this summer in JAMA Pediatrics, highlight the consequences of this shortfall.

There’s been a push for health insurers to better cover often-pricey autism treatments, especially applied behavioral analysis, a type of behavioral modification therapy. Read article here…..

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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