In a big win for families with children who are seeking Applied Behavioral Analysis or ABA treatment, generally for disorders on the Autism Spectrum, the South Dakota Division of Insurance announced today that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved the Noem Administrations’ application to add the benefit to basic level of coverage as filed with the federal government.
This move comes after the Noem administration promised to help close loopholes that allowed insurers to preclude covering the therapy.
SD Benchmark Summary_SD by Pat Powers on Scribd
For more information on this really, really technical change which does a lot of good for families, read my April 29 post on the topic.
As I noted there, the change revises “the minimum level of coverage to include ABA therapy which would have the effect of expanding the present number of policies covering the therapy to include a limited number of treatments as part of the minimum scope of benefits for insurance policies in the individual and small group markets.”
It’s not a perfect or all encompassing solution, but it’s a good continuation of efforts for families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder starting in 2021.
And a very appreciated promise kept from Governor Kristi Noem’s administration.