Less than half of the US states have mandates for insurance coverage for autism, so they'd better find a right state<g>. And those do have, most of them only cover from school age kids. I know for a fact that some couples moved to WI from other US states for the sake of their school children who got autism because their home states do not have mandated coverage. And coverage here is a tricky word since no any FDA approved drug on the condition yet. The so-called coverage is just special education. And here is a paragraph for the potential cost of autism. And this tells the states that do have coverage are cutting down the benefit due to the high cost.
vaccinationnews.com
"The estimated cost, according to Congressman Burton, to support an individual with Autism from diagnosis to death is $5 million PER PERSON. At the current rate of an estimated 1 in 400 children diagnosed with Autism and extrapolating these figures out, using the census figures from 2000, and using the age group of over three enrolled in school through grade 12, would mean there are approximately 150,000 children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The total cost at this time to support these children into adulthood until death would be $750 billion dollars. If you extend these figures out, and arbitrarily pick a figure of 1 in 150 children diagnosed with Autism, which may be a conservative estimate of the increase in the epidemic, then there is a population base of 400,000 Autistic people waiting on the horizon of our society. At the current cost, which would undoubtedly rise over time and would be a conservative estimate now, the cost to support these individuals will be $2 trillion. And these are very conservative estimates, as Congressman Burton believes the current population of Autistic Spectrum Disorder children to be more in the 415,000-population base already. The cost to our society and to families and to the individuals is staggering. And the question has to be asked: How will this ever be paid for?" |
