Alabama Enacts Broad Autism Insurance Mandate

On May 19, 2017, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation to implement an autism insurance coverage mandate. The provisions of House Bill (HB) 284 require certain health benefit plans to cover medically necessary treatment for autism spectrum disorders, including applied behavior analysis (ABA) through age 18. The provisions will apply to fully insured large group plans and grandfathered individual plans renewing on and after October 1, 2017. The coverage mandate will extend to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plan enrollments on and after December 31, 2018; on that date, the coverage mandate will also extend to . . .