On World Autism Day, There Are Still Families without Help

This is not 1950, it is 2012, and families should not have to go bankrupt to pay for their children's therapies. Insurance companies should cover conditions that require treatment.
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The CDC report on Autism was released on Thursday, detailing that it is now estimated that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. alone are on the Autism Spectrum. While some articles that I have read have labeled this "Alarmingly high," as the parent of a child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), I'm shocked that it took them so long to get to this conclusion, because it is a fact that many parents of children with autism already knew.

What is more alarming is that there are only 30 states that require insurance companies to pay for therapies related to Autism, most recently Michigan, and that leaves another 20 states who do not mandate that insurance companies pay for therapies related to a known medial deficiency. It is ridiculous and should be called out.

This is not 1950, it is 2012, and families should not have to go bankrupt to pay for their children's therapies. Insurance companies should cover conditions that require treatment.

The CDC report is a positive step in the right direction. The "1 in 88" ratio should let doctors have some freedom in their diagnoses, and let insurance companies know that they should pay for these developmental therapies, so that no child is left behind because they are protecting their bottom line.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and I think that with this report coming out, 2012 is going to be an interesting year with the realization that Autism can affect not just a few, but many, and we need to find ways to help them.

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