Health Care Reform and Autism Coverage: Some Holes, Notes Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks, a major advocacy group, has a helpful post explaining some details of the health care reform bill signed this week by President Obama. In essence, the group praises the direction of the health care policy embodied in the bill and cites some direct benefits for families who are seeking services for people with autism. But the article also notes there are holes in specific coverage options, and cites these holes as reasons to continue to seek reforms.

On the plus side: the new law will end the practice of insurance companies denying benefits based on pre-existing conditions, including autism spectrum disorders. But the law won't mean that insurers must provide behavioral services such as Applied Behavior Analysis. From the article:

Not all insurance plans will be required to cover behavioral health treatment. That’s because only certain types of health plans will be required, beginning in 2014, to cover the list of essential benefits, including behavioral health treatment. The types of plans included under this provision are: (1) plans offered by state-based exchanges, through which individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage; and (2) plans offered in the individual and small group markets outside the exchange. Existing coverage, plans offered in the large group market outside exchanges, and self-insured plans (plans under which an employer assumes direct financial responsibility for the costs of enrollees’ medical claims, or sometimes referred to as “ERISA plans”) will not be required to provide the essential benefits package. This last exception is especially significant because 57% of workers who are currently covered by their employers’ health benefits are enrolled in a plan self-insured by the employer.

See the article by clicking here: Health Care Reform: What does it mean for the Autism community?

The White House has links to information about the health care law and a link that leads you to the text of the law known as H.R. 4872, Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.