USA
News
in
Review
.
Topeka,
Kansas
—
Kansas
Rep.
John
Rubin
says
that
he
would
like
to
push
for
modifica7ons
in
the
bill
he
himself
championed
for
the
expansion
of
insurance
coverage
for
au7sm
treatment
in
the
state.
House
Bill
2744,
the
law
that
mandates
a u 7 s m
c o v e r a g e
o f
i n s u r a n c e
companies
in
the
state,
was
passed
with
a
compromise
between
insurance
companies
in
the
state
and
advocates
for
au7sm
treatment.
Harrisburg,
PA
–
A
new
census
report
for
Philadelphia
was
recently
released
and
shows
that
the
need
for
au7sm
services
in
the
state
rose
drama7cally.
The
number
of
individuals
on
the
spectrum
already
receiving
services
since
2005
has
since
tripled,
but
the
report
es7mates
that
more
individuals
with
au7sm
may
not
have
been
included
in
the
census
yet.
Whitehouse,
Ohio
–
Centers
for
Medicare
and
Medicaid
Services
(CMS)
announced
changes
to
it’s
Home
and
Community-‐Based
Services
program
in
January
that
could
hinder
people
with
au7sm.
The
program
gives
waivers
to
people
with
disabili7es
on
Medicaid
so
they
can
live
at
home
or
in
a
c o m m u n i t y
r a t h e r
t h e n
b e
ins7tu7onalized.
Washington,
DC
–
The
Department
of
Defense
has
hired
Rand
Corp
to
analyze
it’s
healthcare
coverage
of
the
au7sm
therapy,
Applied
Behavior
Analysis
(ABA).
Recently
Tricare,
one
of
the
healthcare
providers
for
the
armed
forces,
decided
to
make
cuts
in
their
reimbursement
for
ABA
from
$125
to
just
$68.
Flint,
Michigan
–
Over
60
companies
have
started
offering
benefits
for
their
workers
who
have
children
on
the
au7sm
spectrum
in
the
state
of
Michigan.
The
move
by
the
companies
follows
a
legisla7on
passed
in
the
state
two
years
ago,
where
$26
million
in
funds
were
approved
for
the
purpose
of
reimbursing
self-‐insured
companies
if
they
voluntary
add
au7sm
coverage
to
their
employees’
benefits.
Columbus,
Ohio
–
In
a
bid
to
help
children
on
the
au7sm
spectrum
understand
toys
that
usually
don’t
make
much
sense
to
them,
leading
toy
company
Hasbro
has
partnered
with
The
Au7sm
Project
to
come
up
with
a
solu7on.
The
solu7on
Hasbro
and
The
Au7sm
Project
came
up
with
was
the
“ToyBox
Tools”
ini7a7ve–
a
project
that
aims
to
teach
children
with
au7sm
how
to
play
with
toys.
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