House Health Care Bill Contains Autism Training Initiative
The House health care reform bill rolled out last Thursday contains what it calls a “National Training Initiative on Autism Spectrum Disorders.” The feds are setting aside $17 million in the first year of the bill, assuming it passes and merges with whatever the Senate drums up, and unspecified amounts in later years of the proposed 10-year package. (Text beginning at page 1402 of the bill, downloadable here.)
As near as I can tell from the bill, these are largely technical assistance grants, providing for:
“eligible entities to provide individuals (including parents and health, allied health, vocational, and educational professionals) with interdisciplinary training, continuing education, technical assistance, and information for the purpose of improving services rendered to children and
adults with autism, and their families, to address unmet needs related to autism.”
Most of these grants would be aimed at universities. The main thrust is to:
“provide training and technical assistance in evidence-based
practices to evaluate, and provide effective interventions, services, treatments, and supports to, children and adults with autism and their families; (II) include individuals with autism and their families as part of the program to ensure that an individual and family-centered approach is used; (III) share and disseminate materials and practices that are developed for, and evaluated to be effective in, the provision of training and technical assistance.”
It’s not clear to me how all of this will improve health care delivery and access much less reduce the cost of health care, but perhaps I am missing something. None of the ASD blogs I’ve checked in with have picked up on this funding, so I guess they don’t consider it such a big deal. Aside from postpartum depression advocates getting the MOTHERS Act carved into the bill, as I reported on Friday, ASD is the only mental disorder to get any sort of special treatment in the bill.
Combined with $60 million in NIH funding from the federal stimulus bill, this has been a big year for autism advocates with the Congress and Obama Administration. I hope they get some results with all of this money.
Related posts:
- House Health Care Bill Pushes Mental Health Promotion, Nanny State In Workplace
- House Health Care Bill Contains MOTHERS Act
- House Health Care Bill Mandates Study Of Mental Health Outcomes of Abortion, Adoption
- House Health Care Bill Contains End-Of-Life Counseling
- House Health Care Bill Mandates Calorie Counts At Restaurants Nationally
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