Mandate Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) healthcare coverage for all employees under the FEHBP

Approximately 8 million Americans get their healthcare coverage through the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP), operated by Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Current OPM policy allows FEHB Plans to include coverage for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but does not ensure it. The unintended result of this policy is a benefit disparity that leaves many federal civil servant families without coverage. Some families under FEHBP are fortunate to have ASD coverage for their autistic children, while others are denied this coverage because the state in which they reside fails to include coverage. In effort to achieve healthcare equality for all, we request the Obama Administration enact policy changes that ensures ASD coverage for all federal employees and their families.