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Autism Speaks strongly supports new rule to reduce barriers to health care services for many autistic people… Autism Speaks joined in coalition with other key health advocacy organizations to strongly support the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) proposed rule , issued by the Department of Treasury, the … such as applied behavior analysis, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, cannot be excluded from any individual or group health insurance plan subject to MHPAEA. Evaluating network adequacy and design issues We also support the … … Autism Speaks strongly supports new rule to reduce barriers to health care services for many autistic people …
Autism and mental health in young people… to address the special needs of people with autism? Naturally, there is no one treatment for a mental health crisis in any group of people – including those who have autism. Mental health professionals draw from many types of treatments to address … crises in youth with autism. We found that psychiatrists who saw youth with autism felt they lacked the professional support they needed when these young patients were in crisis – for example, support from other mental health professionals with special expertise in crisis management or a crisis-evaluation center. …
Virginia passes legislation to expand autism insurance mandate… for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder for children ages two to six under state-regulated, large group plans. In 2015, we passed legislation that raised the age cap to ten years old. This year, the state legislature has … individuals with autism of all ages under state-regulated, large group plans starting in January 2020. We appreciate the support of our legislative champions and the growth in bipartisan support over our ten years of autism insurance work in Virginia, and we are grateful for the collaboration and determination …
Utah autism insurance mandate expanded! … requiring coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder under state-regulated, individual and large group plans. However, this coverage was limited to children ages 2-10 years old. Coverage for behavioral health treatments, … behavior analysis (ABA), was also limited to 600 hours per year (approximately 11.5 hours per week). Thanks to the support of the Utah state legislature and Governor, these restrictions in coverage for autism have been removed. Effective … and treatment of autism if claims for autism coverage caused premiums to increase in excess of 1%. We are grateful for the support of the legislative champions and local advocates that helped achieve this milestone! Access to meaningful and …
Autism Caregiver Training: Helping families… about how they didn’t know what to do to help a child diagnosed with autism. “We don’t have the skills. We don’t have support,” they told me. We’ve heard these concerns in many parts of the world. Professional behavioral therapy isn’t … with autism. They’re clinicians with backgrounds in behavioral intervention and training as peer mentors who provide support to families who call their help line. In addition, we trained two members of the Newark school district’s special … Master Trainers train non-specialists we call Facilitators. The Facilitators go back to their local communities to conduct group programs and visit individual homes to share the strategies with parents free of charge. Many of our facilitators are …
Autism Speaks recognizes Oklahoma Commissioner Mulready for work on autism insurance coverage… Department Commissioner Glen Mulready with an Autism Speaks 2022 Public Service Award for championing initiatives that support coverage of autism therapies and treatment for people with autism in Oklahoma. From his work as an insurance … the state law's diagnosis age restrictions as discriminatory. And with the passage of SB 1240 , state-regulated small group and individual plans will be required to provide meaningful autism insurance coverage beginning in 2023. “Oklahoma's … and a long-time volunteer advocate for the Oklahoma autism community also had the opportunity to thank Mulready for his support. Individuals in Oklahoma interested in shopping for an insurance plan that provides insurance benefits for …
Autism Speaks national board member Dr. Tom Frazier appointed to federal autism committee… has been appointed as one of two new members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee ( IACC ), an advisory group on federal autism activities. He will serve alongside other public stakeholders as well as federal committee members … IACC plays a critical role in deciding where our federal priorities should lie in funding autism services and research to support autistic people across the spectrum and of all ages,” said Dr. Frazier. “I look forward to working to ensure that …
Tennessee Autism Insurance Reform Update… (UHC) and Cigna have voluntarily added coverage for ABA in many of their fully insured plans . This means that 93% of large group plans, 84% of small group plans and 63% of individual plans in the fully insured market in Tennessee now cover ABA for autism! If you are not … to your employer to add the benefit. Please refer to Autism Speaks’ Self-Funded Employer Toolkit for tips and materials to support your efforts. If you can get a meeting with your Human Resources Department to discuss, a member of the Autism …
2022 Advocacy Highlights… that ensure billions of dollars are dedicated at the federal and state levels to improving and expanding the services, supports and opportunities available to autistic people. Today, we celebrate the policy milestones and accomplishments that … appropriate for autistic children and young adults enrolled in Medicaid. Oklahoma will require state-regulated small group and individual health insurance plans to provide meaningful coverage of autism services beginning in 2023 thanks to …
Autism & Disparities: Addressing the Needs of Underserved Communities… Asian-American, and Native American communities within the United States. Recognizing the diversity that exists within groups, the panelists did not speak on behalf of all members of their larger communities. However, their voices provide … of people who are also affected by social and economic disparities associated with belonging to a racial or ethnic minority group. Autism Speaks is committed to addressing these disparities by advocating for passage of the Autism CARES Act of 2019 … as well as by partnering with the Ad Council and Sesame Workshop on a new public awareness campaign . We appreciate the support of advocates like our panelists and congressional legislative champions in providing the vision and opportunity to …