Letter from our President

Autism Association of Northeast Arkansas

The health care reform bill that the House passed includes the following provisions that will affect families with children with autism:

Ø  Insurers would be prohibited from excluding coverage based on pre-existing conditions;

Ø  Insurers would be prevented from selectively refusing to renew coverage;

Ø  Insurers would no longer be able to charge people different premiums based on their health status, gender or occupation;

Ø  A standardized annual out-of-pocket spending limit would be established so that no family would face bankruptcy due to medical expenses;

Ø  Annual and lifetime benefit caps would be prohibited;

Ø  Mental health would be covered;

Ø  “Habilitative” and “maintenance services” would be covered; and

Ø  Coverage of “behavioral health treatments” such as ABA therapy, would be required. 

And this….

Recently, the American Psychiatric Association released some preliminary draft changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) that may affect those diagnosed on the autism spectrum. There are several significant changes proposed that are now posted for public view, including:  Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) would both be subsumed into the Autistic Disorder category, meaning that they would no longer be considered a separate diagnosis from autism, and the inclusion of potential co-morbidities with ADHD and other medical conditions. Comments regarding the proposed changes should be submitted to: www.DSM5.org.

Shelby Knight