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Federal employee health-care plans will have to cover applied behavior analysis for children on the autism spectrum starting next year, and they are being encouraged to step up the incentives for enrollees to participate in wellness programs. The Office of Personnel Management since 2013 has encouraged carriers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to cover that treatment for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but “coverage has been uneven for this intense one-on-one therapy that is becoming a leading form of treatment for these children,” acting director Beth Cobert said Thursday morning. (Yoder, 3/31)

More wages, less health insurance. In a recent survey, one in five people with employer-based coverage said they would opt for fewer health benefits if they could get a bump in their wages. That’s double the percentage who said they would make that choice in 2012. “I do these surveys all the time, and it’s rare where you see things change that quickly,” said Paul Fronstin, director of the health research and education program at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, which conducted the survey of 1,500 workers with Greenwald & Associates. (Andrews, 4/1)