Two of California’s largest health insurers have announced that they will be providing coverage for behavioral therapy for autistic children, reports the
Los Angeles Times.
Autism is a neurological development disorder that impairs a person’s ability to interact socially and communicate regularly. The signs for autism typically appear in babies and toddlers before they are three years old.
Because therapy for affected children is so expensive, insurance companies have long resisted pressure to cover the services. But, Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross have become the first major insurance agencies to provide coverage for the first stages of therapy known as “applied behavior analysis.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about nine in 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with some form of autism.
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