State health officials say a major proposed funding boost for child autism treatment would substantially expand and improve service to the estimated 6,000 Nevada children living with the disorder.
Health department chief Romaine Gilliland detailed Gov. Brian Sandoval's plan to add around $61 million to the state's autism support program during an interim budget committee meeting Wednesday.
The increase would cover an additional 260 children and decrease wait times that can exceed a year. The state would provide coverage to more than 2,000 children with autism-related disorders when expanded Medicaid is factored in.
The Nevada Autism Treatment Assistance Program was created in 2011 to help parents pay for costly autism treatment. Sandoval says that under his plan, overall autism funding in Nevada would rise from $2 million to $73 million.
Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/. 9(MDA0NjY4NzQ2MDEyOTc4NzIzMThmMjJkMg001))