HHS plan to use Medicare and Medicaid data to study autism alarms experts

HHS said it intends to create a database of enrolled Medicare and Medicaid patients to support a study aimed at identifying the “root causes” of autism.

Autism experts and advocates expressed alarm after the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday it intends to create a database of enrolled Medicare and Medicaid patients to support a study aimed at identifying the “root causes” of autism.

Under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will partner up to build the database, using insurance claims data, electronic medical records and wearable technology, like smartwatches.

In a release, Kennedy said the agency is “pulling back the curtain — with full transparency and accountability — to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.”

An HHS spokesperson declined a request to make an agency official available to discuss the project, including how it will be implemented, how it will define autism and how the data will be able to identify its causes.

In a news release, the agency said researchers would focus on autism diagnosis trends, outcomes from medical and behavior therapies, access to care and disparities by demographics and geography, and health care costs.