Munroe-Meyer Institute Teams with State for Autism Coverage Medicaid Guidelines (NE UCEDD/LEND)

June 27, 2016

Following a 2015 Nebraska Supreme Court ruling that mandated Medicare coverage for children with autism in the state, Nebraska officials seeking information on the types of services that could and should be provided met with a team of professionals from the University of Nebraska Medical Center's Munroe-Meyer Institute.

"We have been identified as a primary stakeholder for providing these services throughout the state," said Terri Mathews, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at MMI who runs social skills programs for children with autism and is the director of Autism Care for Toddlers Clinic. "We provide a lot of teaching and research in this area, and we're probably the most frequent referral source for providers who see children with possible autism spectrum disorders."

Cynthia Ellis, M.D., associate professor of developmental medicine at MMI and chair of the Nebraska State Autism Collaborative, was one of the MMI experts who met with state officials, along with Dr. Mathews and Wayne Fisher, Ph.D., director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Joe Evans, Ph.D., director of psychology, and other MMI staff.