Oregon’s Kaiser Permanente Becomes First Health Insurer To Cover Autism Treatment

New Products & Services Advocates scored a major victory when Kaiser Permanente announced it would provide coverage of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy for autism and neurodevelopmental disorders. Kaiser intends to work with its medical and clinical staff to provide ABA services for members who have such a medical need, said David Northfield, spokesman. Kaiser is the first health insurer in Oregon to voluntarily cover autism; currently, several Oregon insurers have refused to include autism coverage among them, Providence Health Plans, which also excludes all developmental disabilities. Contact information: David Rosenfeld, Associate Editor, The Lund Report, PO Box 82841, Portland . . .