Health care coverage: qualified autism service providers.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment provided for pervasive developmental disorder or autism and requires a plan or policy to maintain an adequate network of qualified autism service providers. Under existing law, a "qualified autism service provider" means, among other things, a person who is certified by a national entity, such as the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, with a certification that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. This bill would clarify that the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board is also a national entity that may certify a qualified autism service provider, and would authorize the certification to be accredited by another national accrediting entity approved by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services.