<p> Autism is a rapidly increasing global health concern. In the United States, many families and individuals with autism find it difficult to access treatment for this condition because it is commonly excluded from health insurance plans. Apprehension about passing autism health insurance legislation includes concerns regarding the impact on small businesses. Many businesses advocates and law makers have expressed concern that passing an autism health insurance mandate will cause small businesses to close or to stop offering health insurance plans to their employees. In an effort to substantiate these concerns, this study provides an analysis of publicly available data on small business closures and small business health insurance plans to determine if a relationship exists between passing an autism health insurance mandate and a change in the number of small business closures or the percentage of small businesses that offer health insurance plans to their employees.</p><p> The methodology for this study includes testing of Pearson’s <i> r</i> correlation models, semipartial correlation models and analysis of variance (ANOVA) models. Findings indicate there is insufficient evidence to conclude that a relationship exists between enacting an autism health insurance mandate and an increase in the number of small business closures. In addition, findings indicate there is insufficient evidence to conclude that a relationship exists between enacting an autism health insurance mandate and a decrease in the percentage of small businesses offering health insurance to their employees. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3596751 |
| Date | 18 September 2013 |
| Creators | Petersen, Mirella |
| Publisher | Central Michigan University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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