Colorado Advocacy
Autism Speaks advocates to protect the rights, services, and supports of people with autism. We work with partners on the federal and state government levels, collaborating with advocates, other organizations and policy leaders to redefine possible for people with autism.
Because of our collective advocacy, we have helped secure federal funding for programs in Colorado and advanced policy that improves autism insurance coverage, autism research, lifespan services for people with autism and more.
Because of state advocacy, Colorado…
- Has an autism insurance law requiring health plan coverage of relevant services, including applied behavior analysis (ABA), in state-regulated private insurance plans and removed its age and dollar caps on coverage in 2015.
- Amended their State Medicaid Plan to include ABA as a covered benefit.
- Passed mental health parity laws that hold health plans accountable for covering generally accepted standards of care and using a uniform definition of medical necessity.
- Made smaller cuts to ABA reimbursement rates than originally proposed in Fiscal Year 2025.
Because of federal advocacy, Colorado…
- Research institutions have been awarded over $15.6 million in autism research funding since FY15, including almost $3.5 million in FY24 (most recent year available).
- Received funding to train future health professionals through the LEND program at the University of Colorado Denver to provide better health care services for autistic Coloradans.