Children with autism hopefully will soon receive coverage from Virginia health insurance carriers after an overwhelming passage of the mandate on Tuesday. A 27-13 vote won the legislation and now Senator Janet Howell’s bill will move along to the house for a final vote.
The battle is for coverage of applied behavior analysis, which is thought of as the most effective treatment for children with autism. Currently, only half of the children with autism in the state receive care at school. It is now time for the Virginia health insurance carriers to step up and address the issue.