Autism Bill in Mass

Massachusetts governor signs bill mandating insurance coverage for autism.
The AP (8/4, LeBlanc) reports, "Massachusetts insurance companies will now be required to offer autistic people coverage for a range of treatments, under a bill (pdf) Gov. Deval Patrick (D) signed into law on Tuesday." Specifically, "the legislation...mandates" that "insurers cover the cost of diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder if it is deemed medically necessary by a doctor. Those treatments include rehabilitative, psychiatric and therapeutic care, diagnostic tests, applied behavioral analysis as well as the cost of pharmaceuticals. Insurers would not be required to pay for in-school services." The Boston Globe (8/3, Lazar) "White Coat Notes" blog also covered the story.
Scientists update lawmakers on autism research advances. CQ HealthBeat (8/4, Reichard) reports "convinced that the interplay among genes, chemicals and other environmental substances are driving increases in autism cases, federal scientists on Tuesday described a variety of taxpayer-funded studies looking at the impact of everything from plasticizers in rubber duckies to flame retardant chemicals to the chemicals in traffic pollution." Senators said "the subcommittee hearing testimony by scientists" from the NIH and the EPA "would help lawmakers make changes in federal policy to better combat the rise of autism."