Data on Autism Spectrum Disorders Detailed by Researchers at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) (Autism Insurance Mandates in the US: Comparison of Mandated Commercial Insurance Benefits Across States)

Health Policy and Law Daily

2020 MAY 25 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Research findings on Developmental Diseases and Conditions - Autism Spectrum Disorders are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting out of Los Angeles, California, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Autism mandates are laws that require commercial insurers to cover certain evidence-based treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to review state variability in autism insurance mandates and the benefits they cover and to discuss recommendations for research and policy to improve ASD services across states.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), “Data were extracted from 2001 to 2020 from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (N = 51) from policy text. News articles and websites of ASD advocacy organizations were also reviewed to ensure inclusion of the most recent policy changes. Descriptive statistics and heatmaps were used to characterize the autism mandate landscape and visualize variability in benefit parameters across states. Autism mandates vary greatly in benefit parameters across US states, but there is a common set of benefits that most states have adopted. These include coverage of provider-recommended ASD services except for medical equipment, coverage up to an age limit of 18 to 21, an annual dollar limit of $36,000 with no restriction on the number of hours or visits, no lifetime cap on benefits, and requirement of BCBA ® certification or its equivalent for providers of ABA. There is a need for continued research evaluating the impact of autism mandates and benefit parameters on access to care, service utilization, and clinical outcomes for the ASD population.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Stakeholder engagement and understanding the impact of autism mandates on clinical and patient-centered outcomes may provide direction for policy advocacy and public health initiatives.”

For more information on this research see: Autism Insurance Mandates in the US: Comparison of Mandated Commercial Insurance Benefits Across States. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2020;():. Maternal and Child Health Journal can be contacted at: Springer, Plenum Publishers, 233 Spring St, New York, NY 10013, USA. (Springer - www.springer.com; Maternal and Child Health Journal - http://www.springerlink.com/content/1092-7875/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting K.R. Choi, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Nursing, 700 Tiverton Ave, Factor Bldg Room 3-238, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. Additional authors for this research include E.A. Knight, B.D. Stein and K.J. Coleman.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02950-2. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.