http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk/2015/7/high-cost-of-autism-to-california

High Cost of Autism to California

by David Gorn
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The incidence and societal cost of autism has risen dramatically in recent years and will cost California about $40 billion in 2015, according to study results released on Tuesday by researchers at UC-Davis.

Nationally, the costs associated with the disorder could rise to $1 trillion by 2025, researchers said.

"If the prevalence rates continue the way they've risen in the past 10 or 15 years, then I would say by 2025 they'll rival or exceed heart disease [in terms of economic cost to society]," said Paul Leigh, study senior author and economics researcher with the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research at UC-Davis.

If prevalence rates even out a bit, as Leigh suspects they will, the study still offers its conservative national estimate for autism cost this year at $268 billion and in 2025 at $461 billion.

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As a researcher, Leigh was astounded by the lack of research on autism -- in particular, a dearth of literature on cost-effective treatments and the likely causes of autism.

"I must have found 200 studies on diabetes, but on autism I found less than 10. There just weren't many studies on cost-effective treatment," Leigh said. "I almost fell off my chair when I saw that."

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