Disability Scoop reports:
A federal advisory panel is calling on the Obama administration to establish a minimum standard for autism insurance coverage.
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, or IACC, voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius highlighting the vast differences emerging as states determine what type of treatments insurance providers will be required to cover under the new health care reform law.
At present, the committee indicated that about half of states are expected to include treatment of applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy, and other autism-specific behavioral interventions in their “essential health benefits” — 10 categories of treatment that most plans will be required to provide starting next year. Other states may mandate that little to no autism treatments are covered by health insurers, the panel said.The draft letter is here.
