State-Mandated Coverage of Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Treatment. 2020

Tanya Wanchek, and George Wehby
Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.

We conducted a comprehensive review of state laws and regulations that require private health insurance plans to cover the services needed by children born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P). The goal is to better understand how states are reducing the barriers children with CL/P face when seeking recommended health care services. We identified all state laws and regulations mandating insurance coverage of services for children with CL/P by private insurance carriers from 1999 through 2017 using Westlaw legal database. We categorized laws and regulations into ten services: facial surgery (facial, corrective, reconstructive), oral surgery, orthodontics, dental care, habilitation/rehabilitation/speech therapy, prosthetic treatment, audiology, nutrition counseling, genetic testing, and psychological counseling. We also captured broad mandates indicating coverage for all necessary treatments. There was a trend toward increased coverage of services for CL/P over time. In 1999, 27 states and Washington, DC did not have relevant laws or regulations. By 2017, there were 19 states without laws or regulations mandating services. The most common mandated service was facial surgery followed by habilitation/rehabilitation/speech therapy, orthodontics, dental care, and oral surgery. Nutrition, audiology, genetic testing and psychological counseling were rarely included in mandated services. States vary widely in their requirements for coverage of services needed by children with CL/P in private health insurance plans. There has been an increase in mandates over the past two decades to cover services, although significant variation continues to exist across states.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007348 Insurance, Health Insurance providing coverage of medical, surgical, or hospital care in general or for which there is no specific heading. Group Health Insurance,Health Insurance,Health Insurance, Voluntary,Health Insurance, Group,Health Insurances,Insurance, Group Health,Insurance, Voluntary Health,Insurances, Health,Voluntary Health Insurance
D009970 Orthodontics A dental specialty concerned with the prevention and correction of dental and oral anomalies (malocclusion).
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002971 Cleft Lip Congenital defect in the upper lip where the maxillary prominence fails to merge with the merged medial nasal prominences. It is thought to be caused by faulty migration of the mesoderm in the head region. Harelip,Cleft Lips,Harelips,Lip, Cleft,Lips, Cleft
D002972 Cleft Palate Congenital fissure of the soft and/or hard palate, due to faulty fusion. Cleft Palate, Isolated,Cleft Palates,Palate, Cleft,Palates, Cleft
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D019458 Insurance Coverage Generally refers to the amount of protection available and the kind of loss which would be paid for under an insurance contract with an insurer. (Slee & Slee, Health Care Terms, 2d ed) Insurance Status,Coverage, Insurance,Status, Insurance

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