FROM THE FOUNDATION

All Over the Map

Newly updated to include breast cancer, prostate cancer, and spine procedures, this CHCF-sponsored research shows that practice patterns vary dramatically from place to place.

Medi-Cal Transforms

Medi-Cal is the main source of health insurance for one in five Californians. An updated report gives an overview of the program's key features, describes how the program is evolving, and examines the challenges ahead.

Obama Care in the Second Term

CHCF is a long-time sponsor of the UC Irvine Forecast Conference. A webcast of this year's conference on health policy in President Obama's second term is now available.

Special Reports

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Autism Advocates Pushing for State Laws Requiring Health Insurers To Cover Treatments

In a California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, a patient advocate, an insurance industry representative and a clinical expert on autism discussed the national campaign to get health insurers to recognize autism as a medical condition and pay for its treatment accordingly.

The Special Report includes comments from:

  • Antonio Hardan, autism expert at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital;
  • Kristin Jacobson, spokesperson for advocacy group Autism Speaks; and
  • Susan Pisano, spokesperson for America's Health Insurance Plans.

"It's definitely about time for insurance companies to consider autism like any other medical disorder and try to provide treatment for these individuals with at times severe deficits," said Stanford's Hardan.

However, Pisano argues that American Academy of Pediatrics considers some treatments to be educational therapies and explains that AHIP opposes coverage mandates in general (Kennedy, California Healthline, 10/28).

Running Time: 7:34



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