Do Access Barriers to Autism Care Persist Despite Autism Insurance Mandate?

描述(申请人提供)：自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)是一种神经发育障碍，2006年在美国大约每110名儿童中就有1名受到影响，近年来其患病率迅速上升。鉴于越来越多的自闭症护理需求得不到满足，越来越多的州通过了要求私营保险公司提供自闭症保险的规定。然而，人们对自闭症服务的使用、成本和健康效益在这些规定生效后的实际变化知之甚少。更重要的是，尽管有自闭症的要求，但私人保险的自闭症儿童获得自闭症护理的障碍依然存在。如果没有及时的研究和知情的政策措施来解决持续存在的获取障碍，对患有自闭症儿童的护理可能会受到威胁。使用一个独特的大型多州私人保险索赔数据库，这项研究将是：1)第一项研究，使用授权后的私人保险索赔数据来衡量自闭症保险授权后自闭症服务使用、成本和健康收益的实际变化；以及2)第一项研究，探索尽管自闭症授权仍存在的获取障碍。这些发现将：1)帮助评估基于实际变化而不是预期预测的自闭症强制要求；以及2)帮助决策者设计未来的自闭症强制要求，并确定自闭症保险强制要求通过后的下一个基本步骤，以进一步消除获取障碍，更好地为患有自闭症的儿童提供服务。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder that affected approximately 1 in 110 children in the United States in 2006, and its prevalence has risen rapidly in recent years. In view of increasingly unmet needs for autism care, more and more states have passed mandates requiring private insurers to provide autism insurance. However, little is known about actual changes in autism services use, costs and health benefits after such mandates take effect. More importantly, access barriers to autism care persist for privately insured autistic children despite autism mandates. Without timely study and informed policy measures to address persistent access barriers, the care of children with ASD may be jeopardized. Using a unique large multi-state private insurance claims database, this research will be: 1) the first study to use post- mandate private insurance claims data to measure actual changes in autism service use, costs and health benefits after autism insurance mandates; and 2) the first study to explore access barriers that persist despite autism mandates. The findings will: 1) help evaluate autism mandates based on actual changes rather than prospective projections; and 2) help decision makers design future autism mandates and identify the next essential steps following the passage of autism insurance mandates to further remove access barriers and better serve children with ASD.