State and Federal Action
No government agency has exclusive jurisdiction over all of these areas. The federal government takes the lead with some, while states and localities may be the main arenas for others. At each level, different bureaucracies deal with different aspects of autism. Courts and private organizations also play important roles in autism policymaking. Each place on the autism policy map has its own jargon and rules, hence the “alphabet soup” that bedevils parents.
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed into law the "Autism Cares Act."
The bill, which expands on the Combating Autism Act of 2006, "will fund critical biomedical autism research as well as the development of best practices to enhance the lives of persons with autism," according to Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who along with Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) sponsored the bipartisan legislation.
It provides $1.8 billion in funding for autism programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and Health Resources and Services Administration.
An August 3 release from Autism Speaks:
After more than a decade of advocacy by Autism Speaks, volunteer autism advocates and partners in the disability community, Tennessee is now the 50th state to take action clarifying that state-regulated health benefit plans must cover all medically necessary treatment for autism. On August 1, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance issued a bulletin requiring all individual, small and large group plans to cover medically necessary care for autism, including applied behavior analysis (ABA).
