Illinois restricts feds' access to autism data

• 1 in 31 children and 1 in 45 adults in the U.S. have autism, according to Autism Speaks.
• Illinois is one of the first states to officially restrict the federal government from accessing state data on autism.

The latest: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week they will build a platform to collect data from claims and electronic medical records to conduct research on the causes of ASD.

• Both agencies stress that data will be shared "in a manner consistent with applicable privacy laws to protect Americans' sensitive health information."
• Axios asked HHS for specifics of how it plans to protect the data but did not immediately receive a response.

Reality check: More than a dozen autism advocacy organizations have pushed back on Kennedy's rhetoric that autism is "curable" and his past comments that vaccines cause autism.

• "Claims that autism is 'preventable' are not supported by scientific consensus and perpetuate stigma. Language framing autism as a 'chronic disease,' a 'childhood disease' or 'epidemic' distorts public understanding and undermines respect for autistic people," a statement reads.

Between the lines: The executive order recognizes that federal law requires some data to be shared for specific, authorized purposes, like Medicaid and Medicare claims, according to state officials.

What they're saying: "We are also deeply concerned about privacy and civil rights risks associated with federal initiatives that propose to collect personal information from sources like electronic medical records and electronics like smart watches," state officials said in a statement to Axios.