April is Autism awareness month, and Idaho is taking a big step forward to protect those diagnosed with the disorder. I did not know this, but Idaho was one of six states that did not require insurers to cover autism treatments.

Department of Insurance Director Dean Cameron said Monday his department has issued a bulletin warning insurer that an exclusion of autism treatments will be deemed discriminatory if an insurer's plan includes coverage of rehabilitative or habilitative services.

I really don't know too much about autism or the struggles families of those with the disorder go through. I ignorantly thought that it was something that was just covered. A quick google search informed me that autism-related healthcare can cost families upwards of $17,000 per year, per child. That is simply insane. The most significant chunk of that due to school-based educational services. It's estimated that 1 in 68 children in America is diagnosed with the disorder.

I found the above facts from autismspeaks.org

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