By OPEN MINDS Circle
The prevalence of unmet general health care needs among U.S. children with autism increased between 2017 and 2023, rising from 7.1% to 15.2%. Reported unmet mental health care needs increased from 4.6% in 2019 to 7.5% in 2021 and remained elevated through 2023.
Reported unmet medical care needs increased in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but then returned to near-2019 levels, ranging from 1.2% to 1.8%. Changes in unmet dental, vision, and hearing needs were not statistically significant. Unmet needs for these services were less than 5% annually.
The researchers analyzed data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) for survey years 2016 through 2023. Children with autism and their autism severity were identified based on parent-reported diagnoses. The analysis examined five types of unmet health care needs: medical, dental, vision, hearing, and mental.
The final sample included 8,246 children. About 50.1% had mild autism severity, 39.3% had moderate autism severity, and 10.6% had severe autism. Nearly 30% were covered only by public insurance, 52.6% had private insurance, 14.9% had a combination of public and private insurance, and 2.6% were uninsured.
These findings were reported in Annual Trends in Unmet Health Care Needs Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder by Tingxuan Wang, Ph.D.; James D. Lee, Ph.D., MPH, BCBA-D; and Wen Zhang, Ph.D.
The full text of Annual Trends in Unmet Health Care Needs Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder was published on March 16, 2026, by JAMA Pediatrics. A free abstract is available (accessed March 26, 2026).
For more information, contact: Wen Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Population Health, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Jockey Club Institute of Healthcare, 1 Sheung Shing Street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon, Hong Kong China; Email: wwzhang@hkmu.edu.hk; Website: https://scholars.hkmu.edu.hk/en/persons/wen-zhang/