New laws covering autism treatment creating opportunities and challenges

New laws covering autism treatment creating opportunities and challenges

A report examining current implementation of new autism laws in Michigan, released today by CHRT, reveals a changing environment for autism care. Under these laws, state-regulated insurance plans must cover diagnosis and medically necessary treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from birth through 18 years and Medicaid and MIChild must now cover a specific evidence-based behavioral therapy, known as applied behavior analysis (ABA), for children with ASD from 18 months through age 5. The brief, Autism Spectrum Disorder in Michigan, released in partnership with the Michigan Department of Community Health, examines how the new laws have enabled many children to be covered for treatment. This transformation in coverage for autism treatment also brings some challenges in accessing care for families with autistic children. For example, before a child can obtain approved, covered applied behavior analysis therapy (ABA) therapy, Michigan requires that a medical diagnosis of ASD come from a designated provider. Currently, estimated wait times for privately-insured children to be evaluated range between one month and 24 months.