The U.S. government has made what is being called a significant step for the autism community. This week the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) stated that beginning in 2017, all health plans under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will cover Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for children who are on the autism spectrum. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program extends to federal employees, retirees and their dependents and covers an estimated eight million people.
Beginning in 2013, federal officials began to encourage department heads to include the coverage of ABA in their benefit plans. The push had some success, but despite the emphasis, many federal agencies still opted not to provide coverage to employees and their dependents. “OPM has now determined that appropriate coverage of ABA treatment by all plans/options is necessary,” a letter OPM sent last week to insurance carriers interested in funding the service. “Therefore, for the 2017 plan year, carriers may no longer exclude ABA for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We expect all carriers to offer clinically appropriate and medically necessary treatment for children with ASD. We expect all carriers to offer clinically appropriate and medically necessary treatment for children diagnosed with ASD.”
Related: Everything You Have to Know About Autism
