evidence: BENGALURU: Accessing comprehensive medical care and support services for autism remains a challenge for many families. On World Autism Awareness Day, which falls on April 2, parents of children diagnosed with autism talk about how medical insurance doesn’t cover basic medical necessities of their wards. [...] "Even after submitting documents revealing my son’s autism diagnosis, we had to go around many health insurance companies to get a basic insurance cover for him. We submitted Om’s govt-issued disability certificate mentioning the diagnosis as autism, yet insurance companies refused to offer health cover for him. There are still some insurances that agree to cover for autism and other neurodiverse conditions, but that wouldn’t be more than Rs 5 lakh. That’s not even the bare minimum," said Geetha. [...] Sarvani Mallick, founder-director and managing trustee of Bubbles Centre for Autism, said, "Autism is not a disease, it is a condition. This is how our children are born, which we can’t change. In western countries, insurance companies cover therapy sessions for children and adults diagnosed with autism. However, health insurance companies here don’t even cover basic health services that one requires. None of the health insurance covers even considered autism till 2019. Health insurance companies hesitate to cover neurodiverse conditions because they believe they need extra care when hospitalised, and we aren’t even talking about neurodiverse-related health conditions, it might be what you and I can get."