US News & World Report (7/11, Leonard) reports that research indicates “state laws that require health insurance companies to cover autism treatment still aren’t reaching the vast majority of children with the disorder.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics. Investigators “found that in states without insurance mandates, the treated prevalence of autism was 1.6 per 1,000 children, compared with 1.8 per 1,000 children in states with insurance mandates.” Although “the difference represents an increase in treated prevalence of 12.7 percent, the higher total still makes up only a small fraction of the” CDC’s “estimate of 15 in 1,000 children who have autism.”
HealthDay (7/11) reports that since Indiana first implemented insurance mandates 15 years ago, “43 other states have also made autism treatment more accessible to families that couldn’t afford it.”
Related Links:
— “Do Autism Laws Help Kids?,” Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report, July 11, 2016.