A need for access to lifelong autism treatment services is one of the reasons Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert (R-Reno) sponsored and helped pass SB191 during the 2023 legislative session.
The measure expands the coverage age for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services for people with autism from 21 to 27 for those receiving Medicaid, a government-funded health insurance for low-income people and those with disabilities. Seevers Gansert said she introduced the legislation as a way to provide relief for families and individuals who faced losing coverage as they aged out.
“There was a cliff. The child would reach a certain age, and then there were really no services available unless someone could afford to do it out of pocket,” Seevers Gansert said. “And for the Medicaid population, they can't afford to do anything out of pocket.”
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The little-noticed bill expanding coverage for ABA services passed unanimously out of both chambers of the Legislature in early June. Gov. Joe Lombardo signed it on June 13.
The legislation is estimated to cost about $2.7 million over the next biennium, with $1.8 million coming from the federal government and the rest coming from state and local funds.
As of this year, under Medicaid, more than a thousand patients younger than 21 with autism receive ABA services in Nevada.
Seevers Gansert estimates that the new legislation will help expand coverage for ABA services to nearly 130 adult patients on Medicaid, according to information provided by the state. Officials with Nevada Medicaid also said the law could lead to continued care and improved health outcomes for those with autism spectrum disorder and potential savings for out-of-pocket expenses.
But some of these numbers could be affected by statewide shortages of ABA providers and the high cost of treatment — two factors that Board Certified Behavior Analyst Molly Halligan knows first-hand.
