The tragic costs of autism are borne by us all in one way or another, but especially by their parents.

The California Senate Select Committee on Autism and Related Disorders says families with an autistic child spend $40,000 to $70,000 a year on care and therapy.

That could be changing for some families.

Gov. Jerry Brown's Department of Managed Health Care has reached an accord with Blue Shield by which it will begin covering the cost of services of a particular type of early intervention therapy, applied behavior analysis. Anthem Blue Cross is contemplating signing the agreement.

The stipulation with one of the largest health insurance providers in the state is welcome, but it is a stopgap. The issue must be addressed on a national level.

Blue Shield has agreed to cover costs of the treatment so long as the child's physician deems it is necessary, and a physician or psychologist must provide the therapy or directly supervise trained persons who give the care.

Under the agreement, the company will cover the cost of the services for six months. After that period, the company could review the progress to determine whether the therapy has helped, and whether coverage should be continued.

Until this agreement, insurance companies here and in other states routinely denied coverage for the behavioral therapy, contending that it is educational, and not medical.

However, autism experts say the therapy helps many autistic children improve their language, cognitive and social skills, and that it can help with problems such as difficulty swallowing.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, operating independently of the Department of Managed Health Care, has decreed that therapy is medicinal, and is compelling health care providers under his jurisdiction to cover the costs.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who chairs the select committee on autism, is carrying Senate Bill 166, which would settle the dispute by requiring that companies provide the coverage. Insurance companies remain opposed, as does the California Chamber of Commerce, contending that the bill would add to insurance costs.

Those costs are not trivial. The Department of Managed Health Care estimates the therapy runs $50,000 to $70,000 a year for a single child. An analysis of Steinberg's bill estimates its implementation might increase insurance premiums by a combined $222 million a year. But the therapy also can lower long-term costs by helping individuals live more normal lives and reduce their dependence on state services.

As the issue is fought out in the Legislature and in courts in California and other states, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is determining whether the therapy is covered under the Affordable Care Act of 2009.

While all that is being sorted out, Blue Shield has done the right thing by reaching an agreement. Other health care providers should follow.

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