1. A health care plan issued by a managed care organization for group coverage must provide coverage for screening for and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and for treatment of autism spectrum disorders to persons covered by the health care plan under the age of 18 years or, if enrolled in high school, until the person reaches the age of 22 years.

2. A health care plan issued by a managed care organization for individual coverage must provide an option for coverage for screening for and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and for treatment of autism spectrum disorders to persons covered by the health care plan under the age of 18 years or, if enrolled in high school, until the person reaches the age of 22 years.

3. Coverage provided under this section is subject to:

(a) A maximum benefit of the actuarial equivalent of $72,000 per year for applied behavior analysis treatment; and

(b) Copayment, deductible and coinsurance provisions and any other general exclusion or limitation of a health care plan to the same extent as other medical services or prescription drugs covered by the plan.

4. A managed care organization that offers or issues a health care plan which provides coverage for outpatient care shall not:

(a) Require an insured to pay a higher deductible, copayment or coinsurance or require a longer waiting period for coverage for outpatient care related to autism spectrum disorders than is required for other outpatient care covered by the plan; or

(b) Refuse to issue a health care plan or cancel a health care plan solely because the person applying for or covered by the plan uses or may use in the future any of the services listed in subsection 1.

5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 1, 2 and 3, a managed care organization shall not limit the number of visits an insured may make to any person, entity or group for treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

6. Treatment of autism spectrum disorders must be identified in a treatment plan and may include medically necessary habilitative or rehabilitative care, prescription care, psychiatric care, psychological care, behavioral therapy or therapeutic care that is:

(a) Prescribed for a person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder by a licensed physician or licensed psychologist; and

(b) Provided for a person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder by a licensed physician, licensed psychologist, licensed behavior analyst or other provider that is supervised by the licensed physician, psychologist or behavior analyst.

A managed care organization may request a copy of and review a treatment plan created pursuant to this subsection.

7. An evidence of coverage subject to the provisions of this chapter that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after January 1, 2011, has the legal effect of including the coverage required by subsection 1, and any provision of the evidence of coverage or the renewal which is in conflict with subsection 1 or 3 is void.

8. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a managed care organization to provide reimbursement to a school for services delivered through school services.

9. As used in this section:

(a) “Applied behavior analysis” means the design, implementation and evaluation of environmental modifications using behavioral stimuli and consequences to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior, including, without limitation, the use of direct observation, measurement and functional analysis of the relations between environment and behavior.

(b) “Autism spectrum disorder” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 427A.875.

(c) “Behavioral therapy” means any interactive therapy derived from evidence-based research, including, without limitation, discrete trial training, early intensive behavioral intervention, intensive intervention programs, pivotal response training and verbal behavior provided by a licensed psychologist, licensed behavior analyst, licensed assistant behavior analyst or registered behavior technician.

(d) “Evidence-based research” means research that applies rigorous, systematic and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to autism spectrum disorders.

(e) “Habilitative or rehabilitative care” means counseling, guidance and professional services and treatment programs, including, without limitation, applied behavior analysis, that are necessary to develop, maintain and restore, to the maximum extent practicable, the functioning of a person.

(f) “Licensed assistant behavior analyst” means a person who holds current certification as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or any successor in interest to that organization, who is licensed as an assistant behavior analyst by the Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health and Human Services and who provides behavioral therapy under the supervision of a licensed behavior analyst or psychologist.

(g) “Licensed behavior analyst” means a person who holds current certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc., or any successor in interest to that organization and is licensed as a behavior analyst by the Aging and Disability Services Division of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(h) “Prescription care” means medications prescribed by a licensed physician and any health-related services deemed medically necessary to determine the need or effectiveness of the medications.

(i) “Psychiatric care” means direct or consultative services provided by a psychiatrist licensed in the state in which the psychiatrist practices.

(j) “Psychological care” means direct or consultative services provided by a psychologist licensed in the state in which the psychologist practices.

(k) “Registered behavior technician” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 437.050.

(l) “Screening for autism spectrum disorders” means medically necessary assessments, evaluations or tests to screen and diagnose whether a person has an autism spectrum disorder.

(m) “Therapeutic care” means services provided by licensed or certified speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

(n) “Treatment plan” means a plan to treat an autism spectrum disorder that is prescribed by a licensed physician or licensed psychologist and may be developed pursuant to a comprehensive evaluation in coordination with a licensed behavior analyst.

(Added to NRS by 2009, 1475; A 2015, 693, 695; 2017, 1504, 4261; 2019, 2565)