Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health insurance policies to provide benefits for specified conditions, including coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism, except as specified. Existing law defines behavioral health treatment as professional services and treatment programs that develop or restore the functioning of an individual with pervasive developmental disorder or autism that are, among other things, administered by a qualified autism provider. A qualified autism provider is defined, in part, as a person who is either licensed as a health professional, or accredited and certified by specified entities, who designs, supervises, or provides treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism, as specified. Under existing law, specified terms, including
provider, professional provider, and network provider, are defined to include the term qualified autism provider. Under existing law, those defined provisions are inoperative on July 1, 2014, and are repealed on January 1, 2015.
This bill would extend the operation of those defined provisions until July 1, 2016, and would repeal that provision on January 1, 2017.