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Magellan's (MGLN) Unit Ties Up to Boost ASD Patient Outcomes

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Magellan Health, Inc.’s behavioral health unit, Magellan Healthcare, recently teamed up with Invo Healthcare to roll out a pilot aimed at addressing unique needs of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Notably, Invo Healthcare is one of the leading behavioral health and special education provider that serves children across 28 U.S. states.

Children suffering from ASD are often put under applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment, which is expected to impart new learning skills and result in positive behavioral outcomes for them.

The recent tie-up builds on an upgraded value-based care (VBC) model, thereby paving the way for enhanced ABA treatment. A cutting-edge solution will be launched by integrating Magellan’s in-depth clinical expertise in treating ASD and newly conceived alternative VBC payment model with the clinical care model of Invo Healthcare.

This, in turn, is likely to benefit both the care providers and patients. On one hand, providers will be empowered with improved data-informed decision-making skills and greater compliance with clinical standards. On the other hand, families of ASD children will be made abundantly aware of the treatment intensity and duration thereby leading to enhanced clinical outcomes of children.

Moreover, the recent move seems to be time opportune considering the growing incidence of autism and dearth of services to address the needs of ASD patients. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, 1 in 54 children are diagnosed with ASD.

Inconsistent provider quality, escalating costs and certain treatment standards have added to the woes as these hamper autism services. Besides, ABA treatment exerts enormous pressure of crafting individualized plans and intense monitoring activities on care providers. This can lead to escalating costs while availing the ASD treatment. Per the CDC, intensive behavioral interventions and added medical expenses each year can cost $40,000-$60,000 for each child diagnosed with ASD. It is worth mentioning that the latest partnership intends to ease the decision-making process of caregivers and facilitate delivery of better caregiving services to ASD patients.

Furthermore, Magellan has a strong network of providers specializing in autism, which enables it to offer appropriate services to children with autism. Last year, Magellan Healthcare tied up with Neuromotion by which the Mightier program was made available for improving behavioral health outcomes of children plagued with autism.

Other healthcare providers offering autism services across the United States include Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) , Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH - Free Report) and Anthem, Inc. .

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Shares of this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) healthcare provider have gained 32% in a year compared with the industry’s rally of 32.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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