Upcoming CASP Events and Advocacy News

TRICARE

As military families struggle to access meaningful autism services, advocacy continues through ongoing work by our TRICARE SIG and in collaboration with Mission Alpha, APBA and others. CASP has met with members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees during the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act and has activated member advocacy to support our requests. We are grateful to the House Committee for including meaningful amendments that the House of Representatives recently passed. Ongoing advocacy is needed as the Senate considers the legislation.

Please read our latest talking points here and save the date for our next webinar on the topic, August 15 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Health Insurance and Medicaid

In Virginia, the Bureau of Insurance issued a long-awaited all-plan letter clarifying that mental health parity protections apply to autism insurance coverage. This invalidates age and dollar caps and clarifies required coverage in marketplace plans as an essential health benefit.

HF 2167, legislation to clarify the definition of autism to ensure critical mental health parity protections, has been signed by the governor in Iowa. The law goes into effect on January 1, 2023.

In Oklahoma, SB 1240 has been approved by the governor, invalidating age and dollar caps and confirming coverage in marketplace plans.

As the legislative session is set to end in July, in Massachusetts, H.184 and S.115, which would require MassHealth to cover applied behavior analysis for adults, passed favorably out of the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing and now awaits action in the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees.

Additionally, proposed reimbursement rates for existing MassHealth coverage of applied behavior analysis therapy for children under the age of 21 have been published. Congratulations to the coalition of organizations that advocated successfully for these improved rates!

In Hawaii, a resolution requesting the Department of Health and Department of Human Services to jointly develop and adopt all rules, policies, and plan amendments necessary for the State Medicaid program to cover medically-needed services, including Applied Behavior Analysis services, for individuals aged twenty-one and older with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder has been signed by the governor.

In New York, advocacy continues to ensure coverage of applied behavior analysis for Medicaid-enrolled children as required under EPSDT. New York is the only state in the nation that has not yet implemented this coverage.

Home and Community-Based Services

Advocacy on the federal and state levels continues as CASP member organizations work to provide meaningful care in day programs and residential settings during an unprecedented workforce crisis. As Congress prepares to go into its August recess, funding for home and community-based services is still not included in the most recent reconciliation package. Please reach out to your members of Congress today and ask them to ensure this critical funding is included. You can find your legislators here.

CASP provided public comment to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission regarding proposed rules that would unfairly limit Home and Community-Based Services options for Texans with autism and other disabilities. Texas HHSC has now said that the proposed rules will be revised, and a public hearing will occur in September.

Special Education

The Florida governor approved HB 255, revising the definition of "private instructional personnel" to include certain registered behavior technicians.

Colorado’s HB 1260 has been signed by the governor. It requires each administrative unit to adopt a policy addressing how a student who has a prescription from a qualified healthcare provider for medically necessary treatment receives such treatment in the school setting as required by federal and state laws.

On the federal level, on July 19, 2022, Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D., U.S. Secretary of Education, published a letter that states:

"The Department has taken steps to address the needs of schools by providing substantial resources to support the challenging work of setting all students up for success and meeting their academic, behavioral, and mental health needs. This letter shares information about resources from the Department that may be useful in supporting the needs of students with disabilities in particular, including tools for schools to assist students in addressing any disability-based behaviors that could otherwise interfere with their or other students’ learning, or that could lead to student discipline or impact safety."

Read the new guidance here.

Licensure

Wyoming, Georgia, and Illinois each passed licensure bills during their legislative sessions. CASP continues to provide support during the implementation process.