Health Care

A guide provides a way for the parents or guardians of children with special needs to map out in detail who their child is and the care he or she should receive.

In existence for less than a year, the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) has already become the largest membership organization of special needs planning attorneys in the country.

Academy of Special Needs Planners co-founder Diedre Wachbrit's article "9 Costly Mistakes to Avoid in Planning for Your Special Needs Child" appears in the March 30, 2007, edition of the US Autism & Asperger Association's Weekly News.

In an apparent violation of federal law, states are increasingly using nursing homes to house young and middle-age people with mental illnesses.

When care needs are significant or family members cannot be available, parents may wish to include instructions in a special needs trust for the trustee to retain a professional care manager.

An overlooked portion of recent Medicare legislation promises Medicare recipients greater access to mental health benefits.

The U.S. Department of Justice recently sent the state of Florida a letter accusing it of illegally placing children with special needs in nursing homes.

In the month since new regulations governing mental health parity went into effect, several insurance companies have complained that the regulations go too far in their attempt to limit how insurance companies select and reimburse providers and manage care.

The federal government has designed a new Web site, HealthCare.gov, that helps people, including those with special needs, navigate the new health insurance law.