Clinic Notes: The New Heath Care Bill and ABA

As everyone knows by now, the Health-Care Reform Bill has passed both Houses and been signed into law by President Obama. The Autism Society issued a statement saying "that Congress took a step in the right direction, . . but we have much more work to do to ensure that families affected by autism have access to appropriate services . . ." The new bill requires coverage for ABA therapy, which many insurance companies were denying saying that ABA was experimental. Good news so far. Now we will see how it's implemented. Thirteen states have filed lawsuits contesting the passage of the bill. We will have to wait a while to see how the ABA coverage is implemented and the actual coverage required. TennCare will pay for ABA in the state where I live and practice. The problem is the the reimbursement rate is $18 dollars an hour. With my overhead I cannot afford to take TennCare patients. Hopefully, the new law will be better.